Albertsons develops digital nutrition tool to measure grocery serving suggestions

18 Aug 2023 --- Sincerely Health is a new digital enhancement platform launched by US-based grocery chain Albertsons to measure purchases according to serving recommendations from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) MyPlate guidance.

MyPlate provides guidance on consuming fruit, vegetables, grains, protein foods and dairy or fortified soy alternatives for overall health. The Sincere Health nutrition function allows consumers to make informed food choices based on their dietary preferences, household size and age.

“With the launch of this feature, we are offering real-time nutritional information, both at an item and basket level, making it easy for our customers to make better food choices,” says Omer Gajial, chief digital officer and EVP health at Albertsons.

“As one of the largest food and drug retailers in the US, we are committed to improving lives by making wellness solutions more accessible to customers.”

Dietary personalization
Sincerely Health gives personalized food recommendations, recipes and nutrition articles based on diet preferences and restrictions. The platform connects the customer’s loyalty account to their Sincerely Health profile, through which the nutrition tool can review recent and future grocery preferences, calculating how it corresponds to the MyPlate dietary guidance.The digital nutrition tool helps consumers make better dietary choices.

Shoppers can see whether their grocery baskets lack one or more essential food groups. The platform rewards healthy points to consumers for setting their nutrition goals and adopting better eating habits, such as cutting down on fried food.   

Consumers can win rewards for meeting the MyPlate recommendations across each food group. Accumulated points can be redeemed for grocery coupons and discounts on fresh produce, seafood and meat.

Linking consumers across devices
The digital resources let users link their activity trackers and log their vitals and medication regimen. In addition, it connects to an online pharmacy experience that includes tools to manage prescriptions, schedule vaccine appointments and connects with general practitioners.

The nutrition functionality in Sincerely Health advances the company’s commitment to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. It is part of a pledge to provide 50 million evidence-based nutrition recommendations to digital customers by 2024 and launch six health campaigns by 2025 to increase awareness of MyPlate dietary guidance.

Meanwhile, according to new research, the doubled US Child Tax Credit during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced poverty by 40% in households with children. The authors found that adults were 3% more likely to report better health and 1.9% more likely to report food security through additional cash payments.

Edited by Inga de Jong