Walmart Pushes Healthier Foods
January 25, 2011 – The nation’s largest retailer – and grocer – unveiled a new plan to make many of the foods it offers healthier and to get this food into more if its consumers mouths by 2015. This move will likely reverberate throughout the food industry and cause major food brands to also reformulate products and lower prices.
According to brandchannel, Walmart currently has 33% market share in the U.S. grocery market, making it the nation’s largest grocer in addition to the nation’s largest retailer. Major grocer Safeway, for comparison, has secured between 4%-9% of the market.
The five key elements are:
- Reformulating thousands of everyday packaged food items by 2015
- Making healthier choices more affordable
- Developing strong criteria for a simple front-of-package seal
- Providing solutions to address food deserts by building stores
- Increasing charitable support for nutrition programs
“No family should have to choose between food that is healthier for them and food they can afford,” said Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. “With more than 140 million customers each week, Walmart is uniquely positioned to make a difference by making food healthier and more affordable to everyone.”
