Integrating natural and organic products with conventional equivalents seems to be the way the industry is heading, according to speakers at the the Supermarket News Health and Wellness Summit at Expo West in Anaheim, Calif.
At Raley’s Supermarkets, “50% of the stores are integrated,” Meg Burritt, director of wellness and sustainability, said, “and we’re thinking of integrating the category at all stores sooner rather than later.”
Raley’s, West Sacramento, Calif., has had stores-within-a-store for natural foods since the 1970’s, she said, “but as consumers have changed their shopping behaviors, they tell us they want to shop all sections of the store, so we began integrating.
Left to right: Joel Warady, Enjoy Life Foods; Meg Burritt, Raley's; and Roxanne Lord, Bashas'.

"At some stores we’ve gone half-way by integrating the conventional and organics side-by-side,” she noted, and that is the approach it’s using as it remodels locations and adds to its organic SKU count," she added.
Customers at Chandler, Ariz.-based Bashas’ “want one-stop shopping for ease, accessibility and convenience,” Roxanne Lord, director of health and wellness initiatives, explained, “so we’ve integrated into a store-within-a-store so they don’t have to hunt all over to find what they’re looking for.”
She said Bashas’ positions the section on the perimeter near the pharmacy and produce section “because many shoppers want that symbiotic relationship.”
Based on talks with consumers, Joel Warady, chief sales and marketing officer for Enjoy Life Foods, Schiller Park., Ill., said shoppers indicate “they find it easier to shop in a segregated situation because they don’t want to have to look at labels to see what is and isn’t organic."
But he thinks that will change within five years.
"Integration is difficult, however, and retailers that do it will need proper signage and shelf tags to help consumers find the products they want,” he noted.
Enjoy Life sponsored the SN event, which was held prior to the start of Natural Products Expo West.
Warady said traditional supermarkets are facing greater challenges than ever because of the increasing demand for natural and organic options, and how they adapt will determine how they will survive in the future.
“It’s a matter of communicating with customers when they walk into the store. You have to help them shop and know where they can find the products that are right for them. There’s nothing better than educating consumers,” Warady added.
“There are only three to six seconds to educate them when they read a package, so having an in-store dietitian can be really helpful in boosting significantly higher sales.”
To make communication easier, retailers should consider utilizing mobile technology, he said.
“Why not tell them as soon as they walk into a store where the products they desire most are located? The technology exists — all it requires is changing how the retailer operates," Warady said.
Raley’s is testing mobile technology for its loyalty program, Burritt noted, “and we know that’s where the future is. But our customer base tends to be a bit older so we have to balance their needs with the technology.” Lord said Bashas’ faces a similar challenge.
“We are launching a mobile app for our loyalty program, but with an older customer base, it may not be feasible to expect the majority of customers to use it in the short term,” she explained.