Tech Takes on Health & Wellness

Grocers feel the responsibility to cater to shoppers’ specific dietary needs and preferences.

- Abby Kleckler

Seemingly every conversation about food centers on nutrition. Many people want to eat better. Some have certain taste or ingredient preferences. Others are following specific diets.

More than 90% of Americans sometimes or always seek healthier food options, but less than a third say that supermarkets are doing enough, according to research from U.K.-based food technology company Spoon Guru.

In a world where personalization has gained substantial traction in recent years, it has largely lagged behind in grocery. Netflix knows a viewer’s past preferences and recommends future shows. Spotify curates playlists based on listening habits. Social media makes like content easily discoverable. Yet most grocers can’t readily advocate vegan products or heart-healthy options for people with specific dietary needs or preferences.

The responsibility is at least partly on the retailer to help shoppers, and many are starting to use technology to do so.

“There’s a huge gap between what people would like to see compared to what experience they’re getting,” says Markus Stripf, co-CEO and founder of Spoon Guru. “The good news is there are now technology solutions, most of them AI-based technology solutions, that are readily available that help consumers find whatever it is they’re looking for, reliably, accurately and quickly.”

A Grocer’s Vision

For Heinen’s, which operates 23 stores in the Cleveland and Chicago-area markets, catering to health-conscious customers has been a work in progress for years, and now the grocer is adding a technology component to really bring its services to the next level.