Healthier products, fewer sales?

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Fewer chocolate fountains, more oil free salad dressings. That's Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's recipe for the future, according to Associated Press. Goodbye to food as an indulgence and hello to food as a key to health.

The latter was behind Whole Foods' early years of success. But indulgence became the mainstay of business in later years and those chocolate fountains, into which shoppers could dip morsels of fruit, for example, were the centre of some stores. Farmers who are suppliers of products that align with pricey imported sea salts and truffle oil should take note.

The reason for the change is not altruistic. Whole Food's business suffered when the recession crimped spending and indulgence fell out of fashion. But aging baby boomers want to live longer and healthier. Whole Foods plans to introduce nutrient density labelling, showing the amount of nutrients per volume of a grocery item.

Might be good for customers' health. Might not be good for sales. A study conducted by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, and published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that consumers who saw the calorie label and a notice that the recommended daily caloric intake for an average adult is about 2,000 heeded the hint to cut back. They ate 1,380 calories at a dinner meal, about 250 calories fewer than if there was no list and no notice of the cue to healthier eating. BF