Customers looking to create a spa-like experience at home can purchase Natural Grocers brand epsom salts in four varieties: peppermint muscle soak, lavender relaxation, tea tree foot soak and eucalyptus everyday cleanse.  

“Since the beginning, Natural Grocers has been elevating the status quo for better standards rooted in the principles that support the health of humans and the planet – this includes our beauty and hygiene products. We have an expansive body care and beauty department comprised of only the highest quality ingredients,” said Raquel Isely, VP of marketing.

“The new epsom salt varieties are sourced from the same trusted supplier that has provided bulk epsom salt to Natural Grocers since 2016. They specialize in globally sourced, farm-direct commodities, including spices, seasonings, grain and value-added dry flavor products. Our new varieties of epsom salt bath and foot soaks use captivating essential oils, are cruelty-free and value-sized at 64-ounces to provide an affordable, relaxing bath ritual in the comfort of your home.”

The new body care additions showcase the company’s commitment to expand the Natural Grocers Brand Products line, established in 2016, which includes more than 800 products, available at Natural Grocers stores.

The four new products are made with 100 percent USP grade magnesium sulfate and essential oils and are made without phthalates, parabens, artificial colors or synthetic fragrances.

Customers can expect to see more premium-quality additions to the house brand line, including sparkling spring water in non-BPA lined aluminum bottles and three new varieties of organic mustard. 

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is a specialty retailer of natural and organic groceries, body care products and dietary supplements. Products sold by Natural Grocers must meet strict quality guidelines and should not contain artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners, or partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils. The company sells only USDA-certified organic produce and pasture-raised, non-confinement dairy products and free-range eggs.

Natural Grocers also provides extensive free science-based nutrition education programs to help customers make informed health and nutrition choices. The company, founded in 1955, has 166 stores in 21 states.

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The retailer is encouraging its customers to take advantage of the program that collected three tons of medications during the spring 2022 event.

“Although spring cleaning is top of mind right now for many people, it’s easy to forget about clearing out medicine cabinets. The Meijer Drug Take Back Program helps our customers remove the risk of an unforeseen medication accident and helps keep medications out of our waterways and environment, by providing a secure place to dispose of them,” said Jackie Morse, VP of Meijer pharmacy.

“It adds a convenience to one-stop shopping and is a great way to dispose of unused, unwanted and expired medications.”

Meijer began its program in February 2019 and has since collected more than 120 tons of unneeded medications in identifiable kiosks near each of its pharmacies. Customers can access the kiosks year-round for disposal of items like opioids, controlled substances and over-the-counter medications at Meijer stores during normal pharmacy hours.

Customers can ask for help if needed, but the kiosks are positioned near the pharmacies so they can come in and drop the medications off, no questions asked.

Items that are not accepted as part of the program include needles or other sharp objects, inhalers, mercury thermometers or medications that contain iodine and illicit drugs.

Once the medications are dropped into the kiosks, Meijer pharmacies follow procedures to properly document, transport and dispose of them on a regular basis. The Meijer Drug Take Back Program complies with the rules and safety guidelines established by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and HIPAA privacy laws.

To find a Meijer pharmacy, visit meijer.com/pharmacy.

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The infusion clinic is referral-based and will provide treatments for rheumatology, gastroenterology, pulmonary, neurology, dermatology, oncology and other chronic conditions. The clinic is staffed by licensed physicians and nurse practitioners and features three private infusion rooms and five group infusion suites, offering a setting for patients receiving specialty treatments. The clinic is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m.-noon on Saturdays.

“We are proud to open our first Hy-Vee Health infusion clinic as we expand our focus toward providing trusted, high-quality care to infusion patients,” said Aaron Wiese, president.

“As an independent clinic, Hy-Vee Health is an affordable, convenient and accessible option for patients who face chronic and complex conditions. Our vision for Hy-Vee Health is to provide convenient, cost-effective health solutions for patients across the United States.”

Since 2014, Hy-Vee has operated Amber Specialty Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy provider licensed in 50 states with 19 locations across the U.S. Amber Specialty Pharmacy specializes in providing personalized care for patients with complex conditions. 

For more than 50 years, Hy-Vee has operated retail pharmacies at more than 275 locations across eight Midwestern states. The retailer has invested heavily in other health and wellness areas by employing a team of registered dietitians and creating a free educational program for children called Hy-Vee KidsFit that promotes physical activity and healthy lifestyle habits.

Most recently, the retailer introduced telehealth and online pharmacy provider RedBox Rx, pharmacy benefit manager Vivid Clear Rx and e-commerce health and wellness site WholeLotta Good. Hy-Vee operates its own fleet of mobile health units in an effort to provide greater health care accessibility throughout the communities it serves.

Several additional Hy-Vee Health infusion clinics are planned to open later this year across the U.S. For patients and providers who want to learn more, visit hy-veehealthinfusion.com.

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Sincerely Health is designed to help improve lives by connecting, educating, encouraging and rewarding customers on their health and wellness journey so they can make informed choices regarding food, physical activity, sleep and mindfulness.

Sincerely Health was built in collaboration with healthcare providers, insurance companies and technology organizations who share a broader purpose to improve the health and well-being of every community they serve. The teams also gathered insights from more than 10,000 customers and employees. The platform will continually evolve based on customer feedback, which will also inform new features, collaborations and enhancements.

“We are introducing Sincerely Health with a singular intention to improve lives,” said Omer Gajial, chief digital officer and EVP Health at Albertsons Cos.

“As a grocery and pharmacy retailer committed to the health and wellness of our communities, we are empowering customers to have a connected and personalized view of their health across food, nutrition, activity, mental well-being and pharmacy services, enabling them to make more informed choices.”

Sincerely Health begins with a brief questionnaire that measures a customer’s health score based on seven dimensions of well-being. The scores are calculated using actuarial science, considering varying lifestyle factors such as age, gender, nutrition, lifestyle choices and mental health.

The platform also enables users to link activity trackers such as Apple Health, Fitbit and Google Fit, as well as log their vitals and medication regimen to have visibility and control over their health and well-being. Customers can set small achievable goals to improve their health score, track their progress and receive insights and rewards for achieving those goals.

Albertsons’ Sincerely Health platform also offers an online pharmacy experience, including tools for managing prescriptions, scheduling vaccine appointments and connecting users with general practitioners through telehealth services.

Customers joining Sincerely Health from their preferred banner’s grocery app will receive an initial incentive of up to $25 off a grocery purchase redeemable across stores. As customers take additional actions such as set a health goal or respond to a health recommendation, they can earn additional points.

Sincerely Health is available at the following grocery banner apps and websites: Albertsons, Albertsons Market, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, United Express, Market Street, Amigos, Pavilions, Star Market and Carrs.

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“Kroger is always looking for new opportunities and collaborations to make Medicare more accessible, and our direct agreement with Prime delivers benefits for our customers and for the thousands of communities we operate in daily,” said Colleen Lindholz, president.

“We look forward to working collaboratively to improve the health outcomes of our collective customers by increasing health access, delivering pricing transparency and ensuring affordable prices.”

This agreement will provide millions of patients with affordable healthcare services.

“It was critical for Prime to maintain the Kroger Family of Pharmacies as an option for our members in our network of high-quality pharmacy providers given their strong record of meeting and exceeding Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ quality metrics,” said Dave Schlett, EVP, president of PBM solutions, Prime Therapeutics.

“Prime and Kroger share a common focus on member-centered care and providing our members continued access to the Kroger Family of Pharmacies.”

While the Kroger Family of Pharmacies will not be in the ESI network for 2023, it continues to participate in many other pharmacy benefit networks, for example the Prime network. In addition, people may continue to fill prescriptions at Kroger Family of Pharmacies through other options.

The agreement with Prime will prevent disruption to Prime’s Medicare Part D members mitigating the end of year Kroger termination with Express Scripts while continuing health access, delivering pricing transparency and helping to ensure affordable prices.

The Kroger Family of Pharmacies remains in-network for Prime’s Medicare Part D Plan clients and nearly all national and regional Medicare Part D plans.

The company has more than 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics in 35 states serving more than 17 million customers annually. It has a team of 24,000 healthcare practitioners from pharmacists and nurse practitioners to dietitians and technicians. Additional network information can be found here.

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This latest installment of Veryfi Insights analyzes supermarket shopper receipt data to examine the frequency of line items in all receipts containing at least one item in a long list of Kraft Heinz and Hormel products.

“With Thanksgiving fast approaching, we were curious to compare these two titans of the packaged food industry,” said Ernest Semerda, co-founder and CEO.

“What we found is that Kraft outsold Hormel overall by a wide margin, apparently unlocking some elusive secret of food and beverage brand strategy and product portfolio management. Kraft Heinz is really showing its mad genius in selling off Planters, as well as its natural and powdered cheese businesses to focus on its strongest brands, which from our analysis of receipts data is working quite well.”

Among the findings: while Skippy from Hormel Foods was the No. 1 peanut butter in the line item receipt data, it didn’t make the top 10 products, showing Lunchables, A.1. Sauce, Velveeta and Cool Whip from Kraft Heinz, were more popular. Within the Hormel portfolio, Spam outranked both Applegate and Columbus, by nearly two times as much.

Velveeta was introduced 104 years ago, Skippy 90 and Spam 85, showing these brands remain popular through generations of buyers.

Veryfi draws its insights on data collected in the aggregate from hundreds of millions of receipts extracted by the Veryfi OCR API Platform. Its customers in the CPG industry can gain insights into consumer behavior through analysis of cross basket purchases by examining all line items on a purchase receipt.

Veryfi provides the only mobile receipt capture technology that includes AI computer vision for receipt detection and image enhancement, as well as a long receipt capture mode. It helps transform unstructured documents into structured data, tapping into data that was unavailable for analysis.

By eliminating manual data entry, Veryfi enables organizations to capture, extract and transform documents, such as receipts, invoices, purchase orders, checks, credit cards and W-9 forms into structured data.

Veryfi uses advanced AI/ML technology, trained by hundreds of millions of documents over the past five years, to extract data and transform it into a structured format for 85 currencies, 39 languages and more than 110 defined fields, such as vendor, total, bill to/ship to, purchase order and invoice numbers, any line item, taxes and more, which can then be accessed for a wide variety of business applications.

For more on Kraft Heinz versus Hormel Foods, visit veryfi.com/insights/kraft-vs-hormel.

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Customers can purchase H-E-B-themed merchandise from T-shirts, socks and baby clothes to hats, coffee mugs, shoes and stickers.

In next year’s rollout, the retailer plans to include stores in every region where it operates. While the wider rollout of the line’s full assortment is expected in 2023, select stores have H-E-B themed Christmas ornaments under the brand shop label available in the seasonal section while supplies last.

The brand shop, which will be located on branded fixtures in store aisles, will feature about 60 different items that celebrate the retailer’s history and showcases brands and products, such as H-E-B Bakery, Café Ole by H-E-B and Texas Tough.

The items in the assortment will include apparel, accessories, drinkware, décor, textiles and toys. The shop will have plenty of options for the grocer’s fans, whether it’s “I Love My H-E-B” socks, T-shirts featuring a vintage storefront, a heart-shaped sticker declaring love for its brisket queso or a baby onesie with a badge that reads H-E-Baby.

Products will be available for purchase in store and via curbside pickup and home delivery at the Kerrville store on Main Street. Customers can use the retailer’s website and on the My H-E-B mobile app to browse the product line by selecting the store where the shop is available.

“We’re always looking for ways to offer our loyal customers exclusive, quality products, and with H-E-B Brand Shop we’re excited to give our superfans opportunities to celebrate and showoff their passion,” said Sabina Israelian-Garcia, group VP of general merchandise, drug store and beauty.

With H-E-B Brand Shop, the retailer continues to expand its product offerings beyond food and household items.

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In recent years, the rate of U.S. adults taking prescription drugs has increased, with the most recent data from the Health Policy Institute showing about 66 percent of U.S. adults are taking prescription drugs. With these increases in prescription drug usage, misuse of expired or unused medications is always a concern.

“Kroger’s Atlanta Division is beyond excited to once again collaborate with Cardinal Health to provide anonymous, safe and convenient locations to dispose of any unused or expired prescription drugs,” said Tammie Young-Ennaemba, corporate affairs manager for Kroger’s Atlanta Division.

The Drug Take Back event ladders up to Cardinal Health’s Generation Rx program, an evidence-informed prevention education program which offers age-appropriate resources to teach others about using medications safely. Generation Rx was founded at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and has been powered through a partnership with Cardinal Health since 2009.

In Kroger’s Atlanta Division, which includes Georgia, Eastern Alabama and South Carolina, Drug Take Back events are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local law enforcement officers will be on site to accept unused, unwanted or expired pills, liquids, gels, over-the-counter medications and patches just outside stores (no medications will be accepted inside stores).

Kroger pharmacists are available at store locations to educate customers about proper medication use and disposal. In-store pharmacies also offer naloxone – the life-saving medication that helps reverse opioid overdose – and free DisposeRx at-home disposal packets for customers with qualifying prescriptions.

During the events, Kroger pharmacy employees will distribute free reusable totes with DisposeRx at-home medication disposal packets, mental health resources and Generation Rx materials.

Cardinal Health has joined Kroger Health in hosting drug take back events across the U.S. for several years. More than 115,000 pounds of unused prescription drugs have been collected for safe disposal during these events. To view the complete list of Kroger Health drug take back event locations across the country, visit kroger.com.

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“Nearly 30 percent of pet owners are grappling with the rising costs of pet ownership amid inflation and most consumers don’t realize that our pharmacies offer prescriptions and over-the-counter medications for people and pets,” said Omer Gajial, chief digital officer and EVP of health.

“Whether it’s delivering medication to their home, offering additional discounts through our Pet Health Savings Card, or partnering with innovative companies to provide convenient veterinary care, our commitment to our customers’ health and well-being applies to every family member, including the four-legged kind.”

Pet pharmacy and one-stop shopping perks

Albertsons Cos. pharmacies carry a variety of affordable pet medications, including OTC tick, flea and heartworm preventatives. The Pet Health Savings Card, available at any Albertsons Cos. pharmacy or the grocery store mobile app, can save customers nearly 80 percent off the monthly cost of pet medications.

When customers transfer a pet prescription to an Albertsons Cos. pharmacy, they will receive up to $75 in grocery gift cards after filling their fifth prescription. Pet medications are available for shipping and delivery and will soon be available via mail order.

To complement its pharmacy services, nearly all Albertsons Cos. banner stores offer a pet care aisle with an array of dog and cat food from leading brands such as Purina, Iams, Fancy Feast, Cesar and Racheal Ray Nutrish, along with treats, toys, grooming products and accessories.

Pet pilot programs

The company is piloting two pet health service programs in Texas and California. Penny Paws mobile vaccine clinic visits towns throughout Texas to offer communities low-cost, basic healthcare such as vaccinations, heartworm testing, heartworm prevention and microchipping.

Currently, 15 Albertsons and Tom Thumb stores across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex host Penny Paws to provide neighbors with low-cost exams and vaccinations for dogs and cats. The company is exploring additional sites for the Penny Paws mobile vaccine clinic to include its Randalls supermarket locations in Austin and Houston.

Fuzzy offers access to a team of veterinarians who are available via video or virtual chat 24/7 to address common pet concerns such as digestion, dental hygiene, stress management and prescription medication. Launching this month at all California Safeway, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores, loyalty members can sign up for an annual Fuzzy household membership at a reduced rate of $59 for the entire pet family.

Once a Fuzzy member, pet owners can track their pets’ medical history, prescriptions and vaccination dates, receive training and wellness tips and speak to a veterinarian at any time, resulting in less trips to a vet or emergency room clinic.

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“While life has returned to normal for many, it’s important to remain vigilant and continue to protect your loved ones from the most common strains of the COVID virus that are currently circulating,” said Jackie Morse, VP of pharmacy.

“Our pharmacies provided many important services throughout the pandemic, and this updated vaccine is another key example of our commitment to our customers and our team members.”

The CDC recommends that people, ages 5 years and older, receive one updated bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since their last COVID-19 vaccine dose. The updated COVID-19 booster targets the most commonly circulating BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron strains and is available for Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

To schedule an appointment, text “COVID” to 75049, visit Clinic.Meijer.com, or call a local Meijer pharmacy. Walk-in vaccine appointments are also available.

To date, the retailer has administered more than 3.4 million doses of the COVID vaccine.

According to CDC guidance, all Meijer vaccinators wear masks and follow specific protocols to disinfect all surfaces and areas where shots are administered between each patient. Customers are required to wear masks during the vaccination’s administration. Most Meijer pharmacies have private consultation rooms where patients can receive their immunizations.

Additionally, the CDC says it’s safe to receive both the updated COVID booster and the flu vaccine at the same time. Meijer encourages its customers to save time and schedule a flu shot by texting “flu” to 75049.

Vaccinations at Meijer may also count as prescription credits in the mPerks Pharmacy Rewards Program, which allows customers to earn savings on future purchases in the store.

Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates 499 supercenters, neighborhood markets and Express locations throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. A privately-owned and family-operated company since 1934, Meijer has evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, apparel departments, pet departments, garden centers, toys and electronics.

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