2 Drug Store Chains Focusing on Healthy Food, Snacks

CHICAGO -- The drug store channel has long sought to position itself not only as a provider of pharmacy services and over-the-counter medicine and healthcare products, but also as a “convenient” retailer of healthy and on-the-go lifestyle needs, including food, beverages and snacks.

Now, two drug store chains have unveiled new store designs that focus on fresh and healthy food.

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CVS Pharmacy has debuted a new store design with an assortment of healthier food and health-focused products.

The new format has 100 feet of new merchandise in health, beauty and healthier food, and uses a streamlined layout to highlight themes that make shopping easier.

A new checkout counter will replace candy with healthier options.

The chain is adding more “better-for-you” food options, including 27 new items under the proprietary Gold Emblem Abound product line. Healthier choices, including Alo Exposed Waters, Epic bison bars and That's It. bars will make up approximately 50% of all food options found throughout the store. Additionally, products that fit nutritional and dietary preferences, including heart healthy, good source of protein, gluten free, sugar free, organic and non-GMO project verified, are highlighted with shelf tags.

This summer, the company will expand the tags into nonfood categories, making it easier for customers to make “purposeful” choices throughout the store.

The improvements are designed to drive growth in categories that are most closely tied to the company's health-focused purpose and expertise, CVS said, “while delivering a shopping experience that no other online or brick-and-mortar retailer can replicate.”

“We did a lot of research to understand how to best serve our customers as we began to reimagine our store experience, and we found that people are thinking about their health differently and taking a more proactive approach to staying well. With that in mind, we crafted a new shopping journey, all in the name of better health,” said Judy Sansone, senior vice president of front-store business and chief merchant.

“Our new retail offerings leverage our deep expertise in health to enhance our customers' shopping experience. The same guiding principles that led to the removal of tobacco from our stores extend to our commitment to deliver the most innovative health and beauty solutions,” said Helena Foulkes, president of CVS Pharmacy and executive vice president of CVS Health.

“Our strategy for our new stores is not one-size-fits-all. We will continue to evolve the store experience as we test and learn in order to meet the needs of our customers in the ever-changing retail landscape,” she said. “As we identify key elements that resonate, such as new product assortments, health services and other in-store experiences, we will find ways to bring them to life in CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide.”

In addition to the in-store changes, the mobile experience and ExtraCare Rewards program continue to evolve, offering more ways for customers to us their phones to order products online and pick them up with CVS Curbside, pay seamlessly via CVS Pay in the app, and manage their ExtraBucks Rewards, personalize deals and use manufacturer coupons.

CVS Pharmacy is rolling out major changes to as many as 70 new and existing stores this year, with plans to expand to several hundred more in 2018.

CVS Pharmacy, the Woonsocket, R.I.-based retail division of CVS Health, has more than 9,700 locations.

Shoppers Drug Mart is opening a store with an “enhanced convenience food” section in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The enhanced offering includes approximately 750 new fresh items. The retailer said it is “aiming to provide customers with an experience that combines convenience with quality foods.”

There are two formats for enhanced convenience food: Fully Enhanced or Grab and Go. While both models focus on convenience, Fully Enhanced locations will offer a larger assortment of fresh offerings, while Grab and Go locations will emphasize quick and convenient offerings for the urban customer.

Among the fresh items are:

• Produce including bulk and individual items, organic choices, prepared salads and cut fruits and vegetables
• Specialty cheeses and deli meats
• Packaged fresh meat including poultry, pork and beef
• A selection of locally prepared easy meals such as entrees and ready-made sandwiches including vegetarian options
• Available for the first time in a Shoppers Drug Mart, T&T products including authentic sushi delivered daily and baked goods
• A floral program with fresh cut flowers delivered twice a week
• Expanded bakery including a fresh assortments of breads and sweets
• Expanded President's Choice food offerings

“With the close connection between food and wellness, the introduction of convenience fresh food items in Shoppers Drug Mart is a great fit,” said Chong Bang, senior vice president of merchandising for Shoppers Drug Mart. “We first introduced a limited selection of convenience food in Shoppers Drug Mart when we launched the large format store in 2002. Now as a division of Loblaw, we have been able to leverage food expertise to develop an enhanced convenience food offering, providing our customers with the ability to quickly pick up fresh and healthy items.”

In support of the expanded food offering, pharmacists in enhanced fresh food stores have been provided with additional nutrition training and health information, so they can better help customers and patients to shop well.

The chain will continue to roll out the enhanced convenience food offering in select Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Vancouver and Richmond, British Columbia, through the end of July.

Vancouver-based Shoppers Drug Mart, a subsidiary of Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Brampton, Ontario, has 1,326 Shoppers Drug Mart locations.

Walgreens has been promoting convenience and foodservice as a retail strategy running parallel to its pharmacy and healthcare channel positioning.

The chain has said its goal is “to be the first choice in health and daily living for everyone in America, and beyond.”

And it promotes itself as with the tagline “on the corner of happy and healthy.”

In recent years, Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens has opened “flagship” stores in major urban areas that offer sushi, baked goods, coffee and other food, beverages and snacks. The chain has also expanded availability of grocery items and fresh foods for on-the-go consumers with a growing selection of healthy food choices.