In Collaborating for a Healthier Future: Retail’s Role in a Healthier Food System, Ahold Delhaize explores how food retailers can help make healthier eating more accessible through changes to pricing, product availability, and the shopping experience. Drawing on research with more than 8,000 consumers across seven markets, including the United States, the report finds a significant gap between consumers’ intentions and their ability to consistently make healthier food choices.
While 92% of respondents want to improve their diets and 79% are actively trying to eat healthier, only 14% consider their diets very healthy. The report identifies affordability, difficulty identifying nutritious options, and the need for solutions that reflect diverse consumer needs as key barriers.
The report outlines three opportunities for action:
- Make healthier choices more affordable: Use competitive pricing, targeted promotions, and loyalty programs to reduce financial barriers to nutritious foods.
- Make healthier choices easier: Improve nutrition labeling, simplify online grocery shopping, and offer practical tools that help consumers identify nutritious foods and plan balanced meals.
- Make healthier choices more relevant: Tailor products, messaging, and guidance to local food cultures, household needs, and individual health priorities.
Importantly, the report emphasizes that retailers cannot transform food systems alone. Meaningful, lasting progress requires collaboration among food manufacturers, policymakers, health experts, farmers, and civil society, with opportunities to align public health goals and commercial priorities.