What to Eat - Supermarkets Marion Nestle

  There are over 320,000 edible products that are available for sale in the United States.  The average large grocery store carries 40,000.  Unbelievable amounts of research have gone into figuring out how to make you, the consumer, buy more products.  There is a reason that the milk is placed in the back corner of the store.  Supermarkets are there to offer choices.  They are not there as a social service agency but to sell food.  To them, it is your problem what foods you choice and how it affects your health.  They know how to get you to buy the product with the highest mark-up.  The more you see, the more you buy.  The highest selling food departments in the store get the greatest traffic.  Perishables like meat, produce and dairy are on the periphery.  They utilize the aisles nearest the entrance for impulse items that look or smell attractive.  They place high profit items in the center of the aisle and at a height of 60 inches.  This makes it at eye level for most adults.  They place store brands to the right of name brands because most people read left to right.  Aisles do not have breaks in them so that “escaping” an area is impossible. 

  Supermarkets are all about real estate.  Products compete for space.  It is more than just highest profit foods get the most space.  Manufacturers pay a “slotting fee”; where they pay an incentive to occupy the most coveted shelves.  This helps the store create demand.  The items that occupy this space tend to be the junk foods.  These foods are filled with cheap, stable shelf ingredients like hydrogenated oils and corn sweeteners.

  Packaging also plays a huge role in what we buy and eat.  Lower prices encourage us to buy larger packages.  The more food we buy the more we eat.  Grocery stores feel that if you eat too much, that is your problem.  For example: per ounce, an 8 oz cans of Pepsi can cost more than double a 2 liter bottle. Cost conscience consumers are going to choose the bigger bottle and the more food you have around the house the more you will consume.  It is hard to pay more for the same product thus we buy more and eat more.

  One way to fight the impulse buying that the stores so passionately depend upon is by bringing a grocery list with you when shopping.  Research says that 70% of shoppers have a list but only 10% stick to them.  Even with a list most shoppers add two items for every one that is on the list.

  The more aware of the stores strategy you are the more apt you are to recognize and be able to counteract their measures to control what you buy.

  In next Friday's blog, I will talk about Marion’s research into the produce aisle.

Have a great weekend

Eat Well, Lose Weight, Be Healthy