How to promote healthy choices in retail food outlets

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As a retail food outlet, how you promote and sell your products can have a big influence on the food and drink choices people make.

To encourage your customers to make better choices, adding healthier foods to your menu will only get you halfway there. How you display and promote those healthier choices – and downplay the less healthy options – will make the most impact.

When they’re hungry, customers are easily enticed by the food choices that are the most obvious. It might be that chocolate bar on the counter or the soft drink in the drinks fridge.

What’s in their direct line of sight will have a big influence on what they choose. So you can make a big difference.

When faced with a range of choices, a good way to let customers know how healthy foods and drinks are is to use a traffic light system.

The Victorian Government’s Healthy Choices guidelines use a traffic light system to categorise foods and drinks as green, amber or red.

Green category foods and drinks are the best choice. They should be offered as often as possible, as they are the healthiest options.

Amber category foods and drinks should be chosen carefully. They are less healthy and there are better options, so offer less of these than green choices.

Red category foods and drinks should be limited. They are the least healthy, so limit the red choices you offer and supply these in small amounts.

Using the traffic light system doesn’t mean getting rid of red foods altogether. Aim to have at least half of the foods and drinks you supply in the green category and no more than 20 per cent as red category.

The traffic light system is not about limiting choice. It’s about making the healthy option the easy choice.

As you know, the way you display and promote your food and drink makes a big difference in what consumers choose to buy.

Display green foods prominently at the front or top of your counter and near the register.

Offer green category options during all trading hours.

Promote green foods and drinks in meal deals and specials, avoiding deals that ‘up-size’ or throw in unhealthy options.

In your drinks fridge, stack the healthier options – waters, low-fat flavoured milk and fruit juices– at eye level and within arm’s reach.

Try to minimise strong branding from companies that are associated with red choices such as soft-drink and chocolate manufacturers.

Promoting healthier options doesn’t mean changing your whole business model. You don’t need to make dramatic changes and you don’t have to do it all at once. Make small modifications frequently and get feedback from your customers along the way.

Start with simple changes, and work towards bigger ones, evaluating your progress as you go.

The Victorian Government’s Healthy Choices guidelines are there to give you help, suggestions and support. The guidelines suggest things like labelling your foods as red, amber or green to help educate your customers and how to apply the traffic light system to vending machines.

The Healthy Eating Advisory Service supports services to offer healthy foods and drinks. For tips, recipes, training and advice visit the website, or give us a call.