Partnership for a Healthier America Applauds Ahold Delhaize USA for First-of-Its-Kind Public Health Commitment to Increase Healthier Food Sales & Transparency
Date: October 7, 2020
Media Contacts:
Partnership for a Healthier America: ABrenner@ahealthieramerica.org
Ahold Delhaize USA: cphillips-brown@retailbusinessservices.com, erin.dewaters@retailbusinessservices.com
WASHINGTON, DC – The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), the premier national nonprofit working to transform the food landscape in pursuit of health equity, and Ahold Delhaize USA, the parent company of leading East Coast omnichannel grocery brands Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop, today announced a major commitment to increase healthier food sales and publicly disclose the percentage of food sales from healthier options. The announcement marks the largest pledge to increase healthier food sales and transparency from a grocery retailer in the United States.
“With this commitment, Ahold Delhaize USA has raised the bar for grocery retailers. This is a win for consumers, through increased sales of healthier foods, and a win for public health through greater transparency of healthier sales data,” said Nancy E. Roman, President & CEO, Partnership for a Healthier America. “When companies are committed to not only stocking healthier options, but also encouraging sales of those items, real change can happen.”
Through this commitment, Ahold Delhaize USA has made the following goals:
By June 2025, at least 54% of private brand food sales (private brand products and unbranded bulk items) across all Ahold Delhaize USA brands will achieve one, two, or three stars through the Guiding Stars program. Guiding Stars helps consumers choose foods with the most nutritional value through a patented algorithm that analyzes and translates nutrition information to a rating system that is easy to understand.
Beginning in 2020 and on an annual basis, Ahold Delhaize USA will publicly disclose the percentage of total store food sales generated from all products, both private and national brand, that achieve one, two, or three stars through the Guiding Stars program, creating greater transparency around healthier food sales.
“Providing customers with affordable, nutritious food every day and leveraging our collective scale to move the needle on important public health issues is integral to our mission to make a local impact with a greater purpose,” said Brittni Furrow, Vice President of Sustainable Retailing & Healthy Living for Ahold Delhaize USA. “We look forward to this new partnership and working collaboratively to create a healthier America.”
Ahold Delhaize USA’s commitment is part of the grocery retail group’s efforts to create a better world by ensuring a healthier, sustainable, transparent food supply chain. The local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA operate more than 2,000 grocery retail locations and significant ecommerce businesses. Considered together, the companies of Ahold Delhaize USA comprise the largest grocery retail group on the East Coast and the fourth largest grocery retail group in the nation. Guiding Stars is the official nutritional guidance program of Ahold Delhaize USA companies. Since 2006, Guiding Stars has been making nutrition as easy as 1, 2, 3, analyzing foods using a patented algorithm and translating the nutrition information to a rating system that is easy to understand.
“Guiding Stars is designed to help customers shop for foods with more nutrition,” said Julie Greene, Director of Guiding Stars. “By providing the threshold for better nutrition, Guiding Stars enables Ahold Delhaize USA to measure its efforts in this space.”
About Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA)
PHA’s mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to transform the food landscape in pursuit of health equity. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! effort. PHA identifies, accelerates, and celebrates voluntary business practices that improve or increase choice or lead to new norms and behavior around food and physical activity. For more information about PHA, please visit www.ahealthieramerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews.
About Ahold Delhaize USA
Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, is the parent company for Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. companies, including its local brands, Food Lion, Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop, as well as Retail Business Services, a U.S. support services company providing services to the brands, and Peapod Digital Labs, its eCommerce engine. When considered together, the local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA comprise the largest grocery retail group on the East Coast and the fourth largest grocery retail group in the nation, operating more than 2,000 stores and distribution centers across 23 states and serving millions of customers each week through a wide variety of store formats with thousands of food and non-food items.