Expo East 2014 speaker

More and more retailers are hiring registered dietitians in their stores. The reason? They see the benefit these health experts can bring to the consumer, and more importantly to the bottom line. Hiring a registered dietitian enables you to have a credentialed health professional on staff, which gives you the opportunity to educate and engage your customers, associates and the community about nutrition, health and wellness issues where it matters most: at the point-of-purchase. 

1. Deliver credible, reliable nutrition information to customers, associates and the community.

Registered dietitians are the nutrition experts. When it comes to delivering accurate, credible nutrition messages, RDs are able to translate complex scientific studies into easy-to-understand digestible sound bites of information for the consumer, so they can shop smarter for themselves and their families. Remember, all registered dietitians are nutritionists but not vice versa.

2. Engage customers, associates, and the community through health and wellness initiatives.

In addition to sharing information with consumers about nutrition, we must take it a step further and really engage them in order to be truly effective. It’s important to have conversations with consumers about their needs. Having a registered dietitian on staff can help with the roll-out and execution of specific health and wellness initiatives to further engage your consumer which can result in increased sales, both in units sold and dollars, on targeted products.

3. Educate customers, associates and the community on health benefits of products at point-of-purchase.

Registered dietitians are able to work with consumers and bring your products to life by telling a story. They can offer product samples, cooking demonstrations, store tours and more. More importantly, they are able to accurately explain the nutritional attributes of the products and showcase how to use them by prepping, cooking and tasting them which makes it simple, easy for the consumer by providing real-time solutions. Consumers are more likely to purchase a product after they have been given the opportunity to taste it first. Couple that with the fact that they know it’s a good-for-you product, it’s a win-win for the retailer, RD and consumer.

Elisabeth D’Alto is the in-store nutritionist for Martin’s Food Markets in Eldersburg, Maryland. She provides consumer education through individual consultations, group classes, and community outreach.  Elisabeth has been a Registered Dietitian since 2006. Elisabeth ise currently serving as the Communications Chair for the Maryland Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as the Newsletter Editor for the Dietitians in Business and Communications (DBC) dietetic practice group, and is currently serving as the 2015 DBC Communications Camp Chair. Elisabeth is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.