I visited the first location of the new Hy-Vee HealthMarket while in West Des Moines, Iowa, to interview Mike Orf, the group vice president of produce purchasing and our 2018 Produce Retailer of the Year.
Personalization is what makes this store sing, and one of the best examples is the refrigerated prepared meals section, which has compartments in the cooler doors that each hold cards with a different dietary consideration — heart health, weight loss, diabetic friendly, better for you, etc. — and a list of meals that will help meet that goal. Behind the door, as you would expect, are many of those meal options.
The shelf edges in that section was also used to communicate about how the products there fit with health aspirations. For example, meals created with weight loss in mind — the Asian Steak & Noodle Bowl and Asian Garlic Onion Shrimp Bowl were among them — were described as “Designed to keep you full with a low calorie intake.”
This store also went all-out with dietitian tips throughout the produce department, from nutrition facts to cooking instructions to healthy substitutions.
As the cherry on top, this location had an Orangetheory fitness facility adjacent to it, with a door to Orangetheory in the store.
This store stood above the rest for me because of its innovative, goal-specific fresh prepared food section. Convenience is such a huge driver for consumers today, and HealthMarket delivers the convenience but also the best personalization I've seen yet with its offerings.
For photos from this store, check out our Produce Retailer Flickr page.