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ALTERNATIVE TAKES

As a four-year-old concept, whole health is already starting to sound like old hat. But it still has a long way to go before it fulfills its promise in supermarkets.Through regular studies and seminars, whole health has been institutionalized in the industry, yet it remains amorphous as a total-store approach. Retailers still wrestle with taking down the cross-departmental barriers that prevent it

As a four-year-old concept, whole health is already starting to sound like old hat. But it still has a long way to go before it fulfills its promise in supermarkets.

Through regular studies and seminars, whole health has been institutionalized in the industry, yet it remains amorphous as a total-store approach. Retailers still wrestle with taking down the cross-departmental barriers that prevent it from kicking into high gear.

Regional chains such as Ukrop's Supermarkets, Richmond, Va., Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y., and Pratt Foods, Shawnee, Okla., have been among the most active pioneers because they drive the whole health philosophy through their organizations from the top down. Their senior executives are true believers, and their enterprises follow.

These retailers see how whole health is designed to give consumers what they want without making it hard for them to find it in big-box stores, industry observers say. It is a deft combination of products, merchandising, professional service and expertise that elevates a store's image as a whole health destination, observers add.

SN asked five trade experts where they see whole health heading, what expectations they hold for it, and what innovations are powering its growth today.

Leslie H. Knox, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Penn Traffic Co., Syracuse, N.Y.

Whole health is one of the fastest-growing departments at all of Penn Traffic's 217 Big Bear, Big Bear Plus, Bi-Lo, P&C and Quality supermarkets. As we remodel, enlarge and replace stores, we consistently increase the size of the whole health department and we typically also either add a pharmacy or enhance the existing pharmacy.

We anticipate sales of whole health products will continue to grow because the population of the two main buyers of whole health products -- seniors and women seeking alternative or self care -- are growing in our markets of Columbus, Ohio; Syracuse and Buffalo, New York; Erie, Pa.; and many smaller communities in upstate New York and Pennsylvania.

Our new whole health format, which we are rolling out in all our markets, consists of more than just providing a wider variety of over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, beauty care and cosmetics, hygiene, spiritual and other whole health products. What we have done responds to what our research told us our customers wanted:

Aisles clearly marked with special signs that identify healthy lifestyle locations.

Knowledgeable, friendly employees who give personal advice and accurate information about healthy lifestyle topic.

And an increased selection of natural and organic food that we offer our customers in every store.

Today, most consumers of all ages have a holistic definition of a healthy lifestyle and have incorporated concerns for health into their daily lives. That means they want access to whole health products with the same convenience and low cost as their groceries.

Roy White, vice president, education, General Merchandise Distributors Council Educational Foundation, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Whole health is in a slow-burn mode. It's not the highly visible issue it was just a couple of years ago, but it is slowly and surely beginning to be implemented in supermarkets and drug chains. Chains embracing it are moving forward in more comprehensive ways than ever before.

I'm impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit at Ball's Hen House, Ukrop's, Kowalski's and Raley's that's driving the concept. At Hen House, for instance, clerks are educated in natural products and can help customers. Also a booth is set up between pharmacy and the natural products section, adjacent to produce, where dietitians, nutritionists or pharmacists can consult.

Dietitians and nutritionists are still rare in supermarkets, so pharmacists are really the front-and-center consultants. But the ultimate payoff comes in associating not only pharmacy and nonfoods with whole health, but also healthful foods and particularly produce. The dam won't open up on growth, however, until we establish the proper mind-set of whole health as an approach that involves total-store products and total-store enterprise.

We hear of chains that are beginning to rename their pharmacy areas into "Departments of Pharmacy and Wellness" for greater integration. It implies that stores not only sell prescriptions to cure any ills, but offer an entire preventative wellness program to keep people in good health.

Supermarkets have a silo mentality and must break down the barriers to take full advantage of whole health, which is all-encompassing.

One subordinate challenge is how to organize the vitamin and supplement sections so people can understand them, and brand them so people believe the products are credible.

J.B. Pratt Jr., chief executive officer, Pratt Foods, Shawnee, Okla.

Whole health lacks the gloss it had when it was new. There was no whole health pavilion at this year's FMI Show, and I believe it's the hard-core advocates who'll support it. It's a solid, viable program at our chain which our customers support, but industrywide its strength will be determined by the interest level of customers.

Whole health's great asset is its nonproprietary feel in the midst of consumer marketing overall that bombards the public. There's a feeling that "this is for you." We've built a firm foundation, the components are in place and we're experiencing growth. But it's kind of like a new car, which dazzles when it's new, and after time it becomes something reliable.

Its staying power and potential for advancement is tied to retailers making knowledge available to consumers, and backing up the whole health concept with licensed professionals on hand such as pharmacists and dietitians. We've had a registered dietitian since 1988, who still gives store tours with interns and dietitians preaching the 5 A Day program. She plays a critical role in terms of consumer reference.

What we see in customer behavior is that healthy food choices are their No. 1 priority, and people constantly seek new information on that. If you look at whole health as a preventative model, it starts with food. If you look to address shoppers who are in any state of health, then pharmacy has a role. But the pharmacist shortage isn't helping.

The Target supercenters near us seem to agree. They billboard in a big way their limited variety of organic processed foods and organic produce.

The hard-core independents and chain supermarkets that committed to whole health did so for consumer advocacy, and they'll continue to support it. Industrywide, we're at the bottom of the J-curve and want to see it expand. The events of last September were a big distraction and disrupted the emergence of whole health, because it takes discipline to rearrange one's lifestyle. People reverted to what they did before. And they accelerated their trade-downs in supplements to lower-priced products, treating them as commodities more than as brands.

We anticipate that whole health over the long term will take a more spiritual turn, with people wanting to be the best they can be in many ways. We're working our way back to more educational efforts overall.

Jeff Manning, managing partner, F&M Merchant Group, a supply chain consultancy in Lewisville, Texas

I see whole health migrating as an opportunity to the other trade classes. Supermarkets are so interested in being grocers rather than customer service agents that they're not paying attention to consumers. The supermarket culture is so focused on selling groceries that they won't let this concept flourish. If they think it sounds neat, they'll have the attitude of "give it to the GM [general merchandise] guy; see what he can do."

Supermarkets are hiring talent away from mass because they think they're experts in GM and HBC [health and beauty care]. These people aren't any smarter. It's just that their companies wanted to sell GM and HBC, so they brought the concept forward.

I think mass and drug will do great with whole health, but until the presidents and chief executives of supermarkets also come from mass and drug, they won't get it. It's a cultural difference. For whole health to work, they have to see it as a total-store, integrated opportunity, and they have to support it from the top down.

Pharmacy is the cornerstone of the effort. It establishes the relationship where a customer can relax and talk with a pharmacist, can acquire helpful information and experience high efficacy. Stores can push health without a pharmacy, but they can't do whole health without a pharmacy.

Dick Glassman, director of retail sales, Weider Publications, Woodland Hills, Calif.

Education is the catalyst for whole health sales. People read magazines to learn how to pursue healthier lifestyles, and they use the advertisements as a product-buying guide. As they learn more about integrating nutrition, fitness, nutritional supplements, stress reduction and even pharmaceutical regimens when needed, they become productive whole health customers.

Chains like Marsh's, Tops and Albertson's understand that knowledge is the growth platform. Marsh's displays health publications on produce racks, and with Weider, will soon test cross-merchandising fixtures in the pharmacy area where people congregate. Tops already has these fixtures with some of our niche health titles in 100 stores, located near their nutritional displays. Albertson's has them in many aisles such as baby care, produce and nutritionals because they lend authority and often supplant pharmacists, who can get too busy to make recommendations in over-the-counter categories.

The goal with targeted titles, say, for pregnant women, backpackers or body builders, is to make categories more credible rather than expect high-velocity sell-through as with popular women's magazines. Retailers must give shoppers what they want and expect in the right area of the store. And stores must insist that their wholesalers service these secondary racks regularly for them to be in stock and influence customers to buy more products.