Business Skills

Becoming an intrepreneur can be the approach you’ve been looking for to level up your career at retail and advance your health and wellbeing programs.

A lot has changed in our work lives since the start of the pandemic and while some workers have gone back to the office, remote or at least hybrid work environments are likely here to stay. The impact of not working alongside our fellow employees however, can include communication issues and the risk of being “out of sight and “out of mind”. Staying relevant and seen is vital. The following strategies will help you avoid “proximity bias”, protect your job and promote your success when working offsite.

With health and wellbeing programs continuing to be offered in digital spaces and the crowded landscape in social these days, a frequent concern for retail dietitians is how to effectively market your programs and services to consumers.

There has been an increase in the number of retail dietitians who have added client consultations to their portfolio of services in the past few years and in some instances, the topic of supplement use and recommendations will arise. When answering questions and providing advice regarding supplements it’ important to keep in mind licensing provisions in your specific state or country.

Many retail RD programs and services have a direct impact on product sales as one measure of return-on-investment. At the same time, retail RDs have added individual consults and tele-nutrition to their suite of offerings as they bring in dollars from an alternative revenue stream. Recent announcements by the federal government provide potential additional opportunity in this space for retail RDs.

The pandemic and resulting need to social distance, forced retail dietitians to change the way they communicate to team members and consumers and shift from in person conversations to virtual meeting platforms. These platforms provide a means to stay connected, exchange information, and reach consumers in order to keep departments and educational programming running smoothly and consistently. However, finding the best platforms for different work functions can be confusing. To help you break through the clutter, here is a quick list of those platforms with high ratings and the best uses for each:

Heading into the fourth quarter of the year, questions tend to crop up about strategic planning for the 2022 year.  The Retail Dietitians Business Alliance offers a variety of resources on this topic, all compiled here for your use in planning for the upcoming year.

The retail industry is filled with acronyms, and during a recent webinar Grocery Convergence: Five Sensible Solutions to Win the Future of Food Retailing, the concept of convergence at retail was discussed, adding a new term to the list.

In his podcast during the summer of 2019, David Chang (the brilliant chef and founder of the Momofuko chain of restaurants and line of sauces and spices) made headlines when he declared that the ethnic aisles of supermarkets is “the last bastion of racism that you can see in full daylight in retail America.”

Just as consumers have gotten more comfortable with online grocery shopping, their ease with tele-health appointments has also increased. As use of technology for health care visits has grown exponentially, opportunities to perfect the consumer experience during these sessions remains. If your retail health and wellbeing services include tele-nutrition consider these suggestions for overcoming common client complaints.