Grocer Trends: How to Improve Your Health + Wellness Aisle

Grocery stores are key spots for health and wellness products for consumers to meet their health goals. The New Year always brings an influx of people interested in healthier options, but according to the New York Post, over 70% of Americans are more health conscious after the pandemic. This means that healthier products will be especially important this year as well as going forward to meet this consumer need.

With an increased customer focus on health, here are 3 trends you can focus on to improve your wellness aisle products….

1.  Quality

Quality ingredients are becoming a top priority for customers. According to Food Dive, “almost two-thirds of consumers say they try to choose foods made from clean ingredients, which the highest percentage define as “not artificial or synthetic” (22%) and about one-quarter of consumers also strongly agree that they are avoiding chemical-sounding ingredients in foods and beverages, one fourth of which avoid them due to health concerns.” Ultimately, more customers are paying attention to the ingredient list due to an emphasis on health concerns post-pandemic. Many customers are looking for “clean,” healthy ingredients that are easy to pronounce and many wellness products are marketing to this customer.

2.  The latest trends

In order to best market these products, it is important to know the latest trends for this category. A few of the 2023 food wellness trends include emphasis on gut health, non-alcoholic beverages, healthier comfort foods, and quality ingredients, according to Food Insights. Consumers have renewed their interest in gut health, focusing on products with pre/probiotics and fiber. Some examples of companies marketing to this trend include soda alternatives, Olipop and Poppi. Additionally, according to Food Insight, “mocktails and nonalcoholic cocktail options continue to take up more and more real estate on menus and grocery store shelves and are especially popular among younger consumers” – 24% of these consumers reduced their alcohol consumption in 2022 to focus on wellness. Healthier comfort foods like cauliflower pizza, vegan fried chicken, zucchini chocolate cakes, and ice cream alternatives, are also continuing to gain popularity in 2023, especially with consumers focusing on quality ingredients.

3.  Sustainability

Sustainability will also be a key consumer interest this year. In 2022, 77% of consumers said that sustainability is an important factor when deciding what to purchase, up 8% from 2021, according to Winsight Grocery Business. Additionally, Winsight Grocery Business reported that products that marketed sustainability experienced boosted sales. Promoting the sustainability of the products on your shelves can help increase foot traffic to your store aisles and help you target this consumer trend.

In the end, it is always important to keep up with changing consumer behaviors in order to keep your store inventory relevant and sales numbers boosted. Some ideas to market to these trends are…

• Create flyers or feature the trends in your weekly ad, showcasing the products you have in your store that fit under each category.
• Displaying on-trend products towards the front of your store so it is the first thing consumers see when they enter.
• Offering special promotions or coupons for these products.
• Offering samples of these products to customers while they shop.
• An end cap featuring best sellers on the end of your health and wellness aisle.

For more tips on marketing your store to your community, read this blog