Why We Love Grocery Store Pharmacists

By: Sue Borra, RD, Senior Vice President, Communications and Strategic Planning, Food Marketing Institute

According to a Gallup Poll, pharmacists are among the most trusted professions and as healthcare experts they offer extensive patient care services including immunizations, health care screenings as well as traditional prescription refills. Bringing these natural health care allies into the grocery experience is a win-win for food retailers and shoppers. In fact, FMI staff appreciates grocery pharmacists so much we recently had one to our offices to deliver flu shots!

October is American Pharmacists Month and a great time to recognize the important role grocery store pharmacists play in creating supermarkets health care centers for customers. But they are not alone. I recently spoke at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo about how my professional colleagues, dietitians, are joining pharmacists in making food retail healthcare the new norm.

As we learned in the recent FMI Retail Contributions to Health and Wellness report, when it comes to evaluating health and wellness opportunities in food retail and deciding how and if they will be operationalized, pharmacy team leadership (59 percent) and nutrition team leadership (50 percent) are the two groups who make the most decisions. As these two professional groups serve as the health care providers in food retail it will become more and more important to bridge any gaps and make in-store pharmacy and dietary services a cohesive healthcare program.

In a way, this makes total sense, since both professions are dedicated to improving the health of customers. Combine that with the backdrop a grocery store provides including fresh prepared foods and specialty health products and you’re one step closer to being the go-to stop for shopper’s health care concerns. 

For more health and wellness resources visit www.fmi.org/HealthAndWellness.