Articles

The Retail Dietitians Business Alliance is committed to helping retailers identify and hire top talent and to assisting dietitians with securing and building successful, satisfying careers in the retail industry. To this end, we’ve added a new service – Retail RDs for Hire – to our website. 

In last week’s article, The 5 Types of Data the Retail RD Needs to Understand, you learned about various data sets that retailers typically use to make decisions on assortment planning, merchandising sets, and targeted marketing efforts to key customers. Today’s article discusses how retail RDs can use these data to support health and wellbeing programs.

Many people talk about your brand and your reputation as interchangeable terms but your brand is only a piece of what forms your entire reputation. Your brand is what you stand for and how you approach your work. You have control over your brand because you can decide what you want to do and how you want to do it so you leave a positive impression. Your reputation, on the other hand, is what people remember and share about you. Consider the following advice for developing and maintaining an outstanding reputation:

Hy-Vee was the first company to name a Vice President of Retail Dietetics, and recently created a Group Vice President role overseeing health markets. The company has led the trend of health and wellness engagement at retail, and currently employs the highest number of retail dietitians.

Retailers generate and/or use various data sets that can be of value to retail dietitians in understanding shoppers, tracking sales of healthier products, and creating targeted programs and promotions. Five types of data for retail dietitians to understand are:

In the retail environment, technology is changing e-commerce and will continue to do so. Experts estimate that more than 70 percent of the population will be ordering food online within 10 years but it’s important to know which shoppers are leading the way so you can use your expertise to provide online shopping solutions. Demonstrate your understanding of online shopping needs by providing relevant information to help keep online shoppers loyal while driving an increase in basket size. Here are some considerations:

There are many ways social media can be used, and for the Retail Dietitians Business Alliance it’s a valuable way to stay connected to you, our members.

Metropolitan Market (MM) is an upscale, seven-store grocery chain located in the greater Seattle‐Tacoma area known for its unique product selection and personal service.  Each store has a full deli, an artisan bakery, a kiosk staffed with “culinary artists,” a full-service butcher, kitchen shops, an expansive offering of premium wines, fresh local and organic produce. 

Understanding the health connection and issues that are important to pet owners can assist your store with creatively engaging these households.

​​​​​​​I am currently the dietitian at Amber Pharmacy, a Hy‐Vee subsidiary. Amber Pharmacy has a sister pharmacy called Hy‐Vee Pharmacy Solutions. Both are specialty pharmacies focusing on long‐term and complex treatment of chronically ill patients.