Schnuck Markets rewards smarter food choices

Schnuck Markets is providing customers added incentive to buy better-for-you foods when they shop.

St. Louis-based Schnucks on Tuesday launched Good For You, a new program for Schnucks Rewards that enables loyalty plan members to track purchases of healthier foods and receive rewards for their wellness-focused choices.

Five Schnucks Rewards members who opt into the free Good For You program before Feb. 28 will win $1,000 in Schnucks Rewards points, Schnucks said. All Good For You participants will receive special savings offers, recipes and wellness tips.

Good For You leverages food search and discovery technology from London-based Spoon Guru. Receipts for customers opting into Good For You via the Schnucks Rewards app or Schnucks website will show the total number of Good For You items purchased as well as a percentage of the food items designated as Good For You. Schnucks noted that participants also receive monthly reports on Good For You purchases to indicate their progress in selecting healthier foods.

Schnucks Rewards members can identify Good For You products by looking for the thumbs-up icon.

“As a neighborhood grocery store looking to build happier, healthier communities, Schnucks wants to help our customers take a step forward on their health journey,” Allison Primo, health and wellness strategy manager at Schnuck Markets, said in a statement. “With the help of nutrition experts at Spoon Guru, we evaluated all food sold at Schnucks stores to determine what is actually Good For You. The Good For You list simplifies making healthy choices to help Schnucks shoppers eat, feel and live healthier.”

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The science-based criteria for Good For You products, developed by Spoon Guru nutrition experts, reflect the 2020-25 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well as recommendations from the Food and Drug Adminstration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and American Heart Association. Schnucks said the roster of Good For You-eligible items emphasizes fruit and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains, plus foods lower in added sugar, sodium and saturated fat.

For example, Good For You products — totaling more than 5,000 items — include single-ingredient fruit, vegetables, 100% whole grains, eggs and lean meats. To be on the list of eligible products, items must have less than 5g of saturated fat, 8g or less of added sugar and 600mg or less of sodium, as well as be free from artificial flavors, sweeteners and colors, Schnucks said.

Eligible items are identified by the Good For You thumbs-up icon. At checkout, shoppers enter their Schnucks Rewards phone number to record their Good For You purchases.

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On its website, Spoon Guru said its technology and nutrition guidelines are designed to make food shopping easier for consumers adhering to dietary requirement.

“We are delighted to partner with Schnucks to help promote healthier choices for its customers,” Spoon Guru co-founder Markus Stripf commented. “Using our in-house nutrition expertise and by applying our trademark scientific rigor, Good For You will help dispel the common misconception that eating well is difficult and expensive.”

Overall, Schnuck Markets operates 111 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.