This Grocery Store is Replacing Candy in its Checkout Aisles with Healthy Alternatives
In an attempt to improve buying decisions for its customers, Grocery chain Aldi announced earlier this year that it will be replacing the candy in checkout aisles with more healthful alternatives, such as trail mix, granola bars, and dried fruit. The change will go into effect by the end of 2016 in each of the company’s 1,500 stores.
CEO of Aldi Jason Hart said:
“By introducing Healthier Checklanes and through a number of other initiatives, we are doing our part to remove temptation at checkout and stocking stores with even more nutritious options. At ALDI, we truly care about our customers, and we’re responding with guilt-free checkout zones and increased food options they can feel good about.”
Included in the initiative is also the expansions of organics. The German grocery chain, which is rapidly expanding throughout the United States, currently operating nearly 1500 stores across 32 states, is making great strides to offer healthy, organic foods at an affordable price. The company also became become the first major European retailer to ban pesticides toxic to bees, including the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam, from all produce sold in their stores.
In the statement issued by ALDI earlier this year, the company said it is “broadening its product offerings within every aisle, including:
- Expanding its selection of fresh and organic meat and produce, including the Never Any! brand of meat products that contain no added antibiotics, hormones, animal by-products or other additives.
- Expanding the SimplyNature line of products, free of more than 125 artificial ingredients, as well as a gluten-free line of products under the ALDI exclusive brand, liveGfree.
- Highlighting nutritional facts on the front of its exclusive brand food packages for shoppers to easily find key nutritional information.
- Partnering with registered dietitians through its Advisory Council to provide tips, recipes and meal-planning ideas that make healthy eating easy and affordable for families.”
Consumer advocacy group The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) applauded the move. CSPI Senior Nutrition Policy Counsel Jessica Almy wrote in a statement:
“Putting products at checkout can prompt purchases — and putting foods at kids’ eye level can induce requests for those products and family conflict. Giving customers choices they can feel good about supports their health and frees parents up to say ‘yes’ to their kids.”
According to a report from the CSPI last year, about 60% of shoppers interviewed by food company researchers bought their candy from the checkout. If every grocery chain made this shift, it would surely have a positive impact nationwide (and globally).
Did somebody tell them that doomsday was on Jan 1, 2017 because that’s interesting timing and I guess at least they’ll be on record as having planned on doing so. Scientists, experts, Generals, leaders, and everybody else who is an insider has been saying for years that there are more than 50 different cataclysmic events pointed right at the U.S. which will destroy it and that would devastate the world’s Stock Exchange systems and so money will become worthless around the world and a world without the U.S. will probably take some time to put itself back together again. If Europe can stand strong in the event that the U.S. sinks into the sea, then okay, I’ll believe that Aldi will be around to implement that change. But as far as I know half of Aldi is in the U.S. and I’m not sure if any company that has half of its stocks in the U.S. is going to be able to survive such a loss. For example: New Madrid Fault, Cascadia Fault, Mt. Rainier Volcano Threatens Seattle, Yellowstone National Park Volcano Biggest in World, Gulf of Mexico Land Slide Under Texas Unstable, California Sinking as West Coast Seas Rising, Florida Sinking, World Angry at U.S., Brazil Angry at U.S., South America and Mexico Angry at U.S., Russia Threatens to Nuke U.S., China Threatens to Nuke U.S., N.Korea Threatens to Nuke U.S., U.S. 300 Trillion Dollar Debt, U.S. Impending Civil War.