Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies looking to increase sales of their healthy brands need to look no further thanks to the Healthy Savings card. This program includes endorsements of healthy foods by health insurers and can be used across a wide range of participating retailers.
The program incents shoppers to purchase healthy foods in two ways—by reducing the cost of those products, and by making the discounts as easy as possible for consumers to use. Discounts and free offers are automatically made available to shoppers, who realize the savings at check-out. It’s the next generation of couponing—the smart coupon, says Barry Nordstrand, chief executive officer of Solutran, developer of S3.
Dozens of individual product categories—from dairy to vegetables to proteins and grains—are now being filled by CPG brands wanting exclusivity for their products within the program. There are no setup or redemption fees for CPGs to participate in the S3 program; the only cost is the discount given to the consumer. Interested CPG brands can visit https://www.solutran.com/s3healthysavings for real-time information on category availability.
Consumer households will begin to receive their cards in May. A regional roll-out by health-insurer Medica is happening in the Midwest, and Solutran will launch the program nationally in 2014. When consumers receive their cards, they visit an educational website that provides content about healthy eating, so they can build shopping lists, receive recipes and use the savings calculator that shows the shopper’s savings to date. The program’s website features prominent branding of the items with discounts for that week.
Participating retailers in the first program include SUPERVALU Inc. (Cub Foods stores), Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. (Rainbow stores) and Lund Food Holdings, Inc. (Lunds and Byerly’s stores). Committed CPG brands currently include Del Monte Foods, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Pan-O-Gold Baking Co./Country Hearth, Dreamfields Pasta, Musselmans, Faribault Foods, Old Orchard Brands, Lifeway Foods, Inc., Catallia Mexican Foods, LLC, Parkers Farm, Flatout Flatbreads and Yucatan Foods, among others.
