Much has been written about retailer efforts to include pharmacy in more of their health and wellness strategies. The thinking is that the department is a logical choice for many initiatives that go beyond dispensing prescriptions and hold flu shot clinics.

The problem has been an invisible barrier that keeps retailers from integrating it into the rest of the store. The perception persists that the clinical, dispassionate environment in most pharmacy areas can’t be reconciled with the high-touch, interactive atmosphere promoted in the rest of the store.

Like most perceptions, of course, this isn’t true. Many people know from experience that talking with a pharmacist is about as intimate as one can get in a supermarket setting. You’re talking about your medical conditions, your health and the medications you’re taking.

So, instead of trying to direct customers into the store, one retailer is turning the idea on its head and bringing more of the store into the pharmacy. That chain is Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans, which announced it is setting up healthy food displays next to the pharmacy counter as part of its “eat well live well” wellness program. For instance, summer berries might be there now, replaced by citrus fruits or soup in the winter, and whole-grain snacks before the Super Bowl. MORE…

Sourcing local is a challenge, and selling it is no picnic either. So hats off to Fresh & Easy’s ambitious “Farm to Store in 24” program, which guarantees local produce will be on shelves less than a day after it leaves the farm. The Tesco-owned supermarket chain, which operates 150 stores out west, says the program has been a resounding success — so successful, in fact, that they’re going to expand it.

As much as 65% of Fresh & Easy’s seasonal produce comes from California farms, and that percentage is set to increase as the retailer takes on more growers. This isn’t as simple as going out and shaking hands with a few farmers and telling them the truck will be by next week, however. It’s a collaborative effort, full of the eventualities that come with seasonal growing. Both parties have to do their fair share towards meeting that tight deadline.

“Getting produce from the farm to the store in 24 hours or less is an incredibly tricky task, which makes it important to partner with strong local growers who share our commitment to quality produce,” said Justin Hill, Fresh & Easy’s produce manager, in a statement.

The end result is worth all the effort. This summer’s lineup includes table grapes from the Coachella Valley and strawberries from farmers in Ventura County and Watsonville, on land overlooking the Pacific Ocean. MORE…

When Hiller’s Markets does something, there are no half steps. If you read CEO Jim Hiller’s blog, A Message From The Helm, you know he posts regularly, on a universe of topics ranging from local food to the love he has for his aging Scottish Deerhound.

The 7-store chain also boasts that it has the largest selection of gluten-free items in its home state of Michigan, and publishes a gluten-free newsletter. Gluten-free foods are clearly marked on the shelf, where customers will find “Celiac Specialty Foods” as well as additional choices among Hiller’s homemade prepared foods.

The same thorough treatment is given to foods for diabetics, vegans and other diet-related categories. More recently, the grocer started stocking more low-salt and salt-free products, also clearly labeled with easy-to-identify tags.

Now, Hiller’s is embarking on an effort that complements the products in the aisle, the signage and labels and the newsletters. The retailer is launching Hiller’s Health Tours. This series of store tours is described as “a new community outreach program, staffed by nutritionists, doctors, food specialists and other medical experts.” MORE…

Spartan Stores announced that it was expanding the Michigan’s Best program it started last year to support home state farmers, processors and manufacturers. The expanded program kicked off Fourth of July weekend in nearly 100 Spartan-owned stores under the Family Fare, D&W Fresh Market, Felpausch, Glen’s, Glen’s Fresh Marketplace, and VG’s banners, as well as 250 independent grocery stores it services in Michigan.

The fact that it’s Michigan we’re talking about means the program has definite economic undertones. This isn’t local for local’s sake – Spartan promotes Michigan’s Best as a significant booster to the state’s ailing economy (from April 2006 to May 2010, Michigan consistently reported the highest unemployment rate in the country; Nevada recently beat it out by 0.4%. Michigan’s most recent number stands at 13.6%).

“Buying local helps keep Michigan residents employed,” Alan Hartline, Spartan’s executive vice president of merchandising and marketing, stated in a news release. “It also benefits communities by boosting the local and state economy by creating more jobs.”

He goes on to say that local products such as fresh fruits and vegetables are healthier options because they can be on the shelves within hours of being picked.

“Local products also have lower food miles, meaning they are shipped shorter distances, which requires less gas and is better for the environment,” he added.

But make no mistake – in this case, “local” means jobs. The news release cites statistics from the Michigan Department of Agriculture showing that, if each family in Michigan started spending $10 per week of their grocery bill on Michigan products, “we would keep more than $37 million in Michigan, each week.” MORE…

New stats are showing that fast beat out casual when it came to the performance of the fast casual dining segment last year. Figures compiled by Technomic indicate that fast casual is tops among the big restaurant sectors.

The Chicago-based foodservice industry consultant determined that 2009 sales for the top 100 fast-casual chains in the United States reached $17.5 billion, a 4.5% increase over the prior year; units grew by 4.3% to 14,777 locations. The performance is impressive given the tail-end effects of the recession on dining out, but entirely understandable, since the growth is based on a trade-down from table service restaurants.

In other words, the desire to eat out didn’t diminish, only the destination changed.

What is “fast casual”? Think Panera Bread — which Technomic says remained the leader of the fast casual pack, with 2009 sales of nearly $2.8 billion, up 7.1% from the prior year. Unit also grew (4.3%) to 1,304 stores. Chipotle Mexican Grill came in second, with sales growth of 13.9% to $1.5 billion, and unit growth of 14.2%, to 955 locations.

Many of these restaurants have a health and wellness or sustainability component to them, but there’s new competition all the time, and one of the newbies will be pretty hard to beat. A chain called Otarian is making a name for itself (two stores are open in New York’s Manhattan and two are planned for London) by building its entire operation and menu around carbon reduction.

Otarian is “the first ever low-carbon restaurant chain, using a cradle-to-grave analysis in the carbon footprinting of every menu item,” states the website. Indeed, each menu item (including containers and packaging) has been analyzed for carbon content, with an eye on using ingredients and processes that creates minimal carbon emissions.

So, the Tex Mex burger (spicy vegetarian patty, barbeque sauce, guacamole, salsa, cheese and lettuce on a white or brown bun) creates 1.72 kilograms of carbon, compared to 2.55 kilograms for a comparable meat-based product — a savings of nearly one kg.

Technomic’s 2010 Top 100 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurant Report notes that, besides burgers (up 16.7%), the fastest-growing menu categories reflect our desire for international flavors: Asian/noodle (up 6.4%) and Mexican (up 6.3%). It seems that Otarian — with its global conservation goals, pan-Atlantic locations and sustainable menu items — might be onto something.

(Photo credit: Otarian/Oswal Projects)

Having recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Bi-Lo is back in the game and looking to grow. One of the first orders of business is to enhance their health and nutrition profile. To that end, the company just launched Bi-Lo thrive!, a multiplatform program that provides nutrition education and identifies healthful foods in stores. A key part of that program is Monica Amburn, Bi-Lo’s new dietician, who spoke with Refresh this morning.

What are some of the opportunities and challenges for a dietician working in the supermarket industry?

It’s a very different environment for a dietician coming from the healthcare industry, like I have. I’m trying to learn the dynamics of the business, the politics, and how food even gets into grocery stores. It’s really just putting the pieces together, then being able to get your message across to the consumer in a way they understand. Getting a clear message across is the challenge, and I think that’s why retailers are bringing in dieticians these days. We’re really the people best trained to talk about food.

What will your day-to-day job be like within the new thrive! program?

I’m trying to figure out how I can reach as many people in the Bi-Lo market as possible without me being there every single day in person. I go from Chattanooga to Charleston, and that’s a very large radius for one dietician. So I’m working on our new publication and making sure that’s accessible, working with the media, and slowly but surely making it into the market, doing store appearances and seminars.

How will this unfold at the store level?

We have a dedicated endcap display in all the stores that features products I’ve talked about in the thrive! magazine. My picture will be part of that signage. We’ll also add shelf talkers to items that I’ve featured. As my themes change the signage will move to different items around the store.

So what’s the main message you want to get across to shoppers?

It’s not a vegan, tofu plan I’m trying to get across. Let’s take the way people in the South eat, but let’s make it just a bit healthier. I’m all for small changes and substitutions.

Is there a favorite dish or recipe you’re anxious to share?

You know, I went to a store this past weekend and sampled a recent recipe that was great — a Caribbean Summer Salad. It has corn and black beans and peaches in it. We sampled it in the store, and it went over very well.

Mention Alfalfa’s Market to Boulder residents and the superlatives flow: Best, hippest, most helpful and friendliest are part of everyone’s memories. The 11-store chain based in Boulder was absorbed by Wild Oats after a 1996 merger, but the reputation lingers.

There was even a period when Whole Foods — which in turn bought out Wild Oats in 2007 — considered restoring the Alfalfa’s banner to the site of the original store at 1651 Broadway. Such is the power of Alfalfa’s.

“A lot of people still call it Alfalfa’s, even though it’s gone through two name changes,” said Mark Retzloff, co-founder of the Alfalfa’s chain and one of the three guys who plan on bringing the operation back to life in the very location where it started out back in 1983.

Retzloff, along with business partners Barney Feinblum (of Celestial Seasoning tea fame) and Hugo van Seenus, won rights to the Alfalfa’s name as part of Whole Foods Market’s ongoing divestiture of more than two dozen former Wild Oats locations, as ordered by federal regulators. The trio’s A-M Holdings LLC beat out Topco Associates for the intellectual property. Retzloff told me this afternoon by phone that he’s missed the retail scene, and bid eagerly for the Alfalfa’s name.

“The Alfalfa’s legacy is still very, very strong here Boulder. The name has a lot of equity. For a number of years it was named the best supermarket in town. It’s known as a place where a lot of community events were initiated that are still going on today.

The team has plans to update the 32,000-square-foot space that is currently occupied by a Whole Foods. That store will close by July 4th weekend, with the reborn Alfalfa’s to open later this year or in early 2011. Retzloff told us that 24,000 square feet will be reserved for retail, with an emphasis on fresh foods, local and regional items, in addition to community spirit.

“Our goal is to differentiate ourselves. A big part of that is being much more community-oriented, being a community-focused store,” he said. MORE…

In 2006, Wal-Mart raised a lot of eyebrows by announcing it was going to start stocking organic foods. One of the world’s more controversial mega-retailers — vilified for steamrolling expansion and bland uniformity — was entering a category founded on principles of scale (small), authenticity (local) and stewardship (sustainability). How was this possibly going to work?

The solution lay in scale: It was about this time that big manufacturers like Kellogg, General Mills and Coke ramped up their own organic operations, either acquiring their way into the category (as Kellogg did with Kashi in 2000) or converting their own brands to natural/organic (many began including organic options in their conventional lines).

Club stores also became fans of natural/organics, and quickly became a preferred niche for many manufacturers, who liked the absence of slotting fees. The retailers liked having product that appealed to the “treasure hunt” mentality of many club shoppers. As long as the item’s volume remained in the category’s top three spots, it stayed.

Then, there’s the online component of the business which, after some fitful starts, has established itself as a viable business model that is entirely capable of handling home deliveries of some commodities and brands. MORE…

MOM’s Organic Market is a retailer on a mission. It has rigorous nutrition standards for all of its products, including no high fructose corn syrup, preservatives or artificial flavors. In 2005, it became one of the first supermarkets in the country to eliminate plastic bags, and last year it did the same with imported bottled water.

And it has a president, Scott Nash, who says things like this:

“Societies are truly addicted to plastic, much in the way we are addicted to oil.”

This level of dedication is rare in the retail industry, and it has brought MOM’s a great deal of success through die-hard customer loyalty. It’s also made the company one of the few that sets the curve for industry health and wellness.

It should come as no surprise, then, that MOM’s has a new mission — one that’s a pretty big leap, even by its own high standards:

Eliminate plastic from its stores.

Or at least comes as close as possible. As Nash’s quote conveys, MOM’s doesn’t feel it’s being a truly sustainable retailer by letting all those bags and containers make their way into garbage dumps and ocean gyres. The company already has an extensive recycling program, shows a preference for biodegradable packaging and pressures its manufacturers to use less plastic. This week, MOM’s announced it will go even further, eliminating all bottled water, bagged vegetables, and petroleum-based wax paper from shelves. It’ll offer biodegradable bags and paper instead, and allow customers to use their own bags for bulk purchases. To fill that need for healthy, portable hydration, MOM’s will have water filtration machines in stores. MORE…

The dairy case at Winn-Dixie Stores just got some new competition. Luckily, this product favors the retailer, since it’s a private label yogurt, a new organic line that also includes added health benefits.

The five-item line, Winn-Dixie Organic Active Yogurt, is available in six-ounce containers of strawberry, blueberry, peach, vanilla and raspberry flavors. They’re certified USDA organic, kosher, and have no artificial preservatives or flavors, according to the company.

What’s different about this product? Beside probiotics and prebiotics, this yogurt is infused with heart-healthy omega-3s, calcium and vitamin D, and three grams of fiber per serving. No other retailer in Winn-Dixie’s operating areas offers a yogurt with all of the same health benefits, according to officials.

“Our organic line continues to expand with new products geared towards improving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” said Mary Kellmanson, W-D’s group vice president of marketing.

Retailers looking to stake a claim in wellness would be wise to look at the dairy category, one of the gateways to whole health. Besides fluid dairy, yogurt has captured the attention of many U.S. consumers as a healthful addition to their diets. It’s even been named the food of the decade.

Indeed, the entire yogurt category continues to rebound nicely from the recession. Figures from Mintel show that 2009 sales reached about $1.4 billion, up 32% over the prior five years. Though the big names — Dannon and Yoplait — lead the market, private label has emerged as a lively alternative, helped by the recent recession. Stats from the Private Label Manufacturers Association show that store-brand yogurt ranks among the top 20 in regards to volume, and has a 20% or so share of the category.

Stick your spoon in that and stir it around.