Communications

Effective cooking demonstrations not only drive sales and build customer loyalty but also provide retail dietitians with an opportunity to collaborate across departments and measure the business impact of their efforts.

An important role of retail dietitians is making nutrition education part of the conversation instead of a side bar. This means making nutrition fun (so shoppers are engaged) and relevant to the store (to help build sales).

Dietitians working for vendors and public relations agencies are well-positioned to provide retail dietitians with a wealth of resources and information—from materials, content, samples, coupons, program concepts, and more.

Several recent reports have highlighted a shifting consumer mindset—one that's no longer focused on dieting and what's NOT in food (i.e.,calorie free, low calorie). This represents a distinct change and one that dietitians have been working toward for a long time.

Presentations and interviews provide excellent opportunities to educate the public, and there are skills beyond nutrition knowledge that must be applied. Kim Kirchherr, a member of RDBA’s executive committee, shares key learnings from the hundreds of interviews and presentations she has conducted.

Social media provides a huge platform for education, interaction, brand awareness, and more. If you are a retail dietitian, social media needs to be on your radar. Even if your retailer and/or private brands have Twitter handles and a presence in the variety of social media sites, it’s important that you as a professional have your own handle to build your brand, help your target audience know who you are and what you stand for, and to interact with fellow professionals both in and out of the retail space. Here is some food for thought to consider if you haven’t already joined the conversation.

There has never been a better time to be a registered dietitian (RD), both in terms of positive impact on public health and professional opportunities. But... it's up to the RD to make the biggest impact possible. Here are some tips to help retail RDs lead the way, developing relationships that will build store loyalty while moving the needle on public health.