More consumers can now access quick, easy-to-understand nutrition advice when shopping in local stores or online
PORTLAND, Maine, April 5, 2018 – Guiding Stars, North America’s leading nutrition guidance program, announced it is expanding access to the program for customers in local East Coast markets and to online shoppers. The program will launch in Giant Food, GIANT/MARTIN’S, Stop & Shop and Peapod, the country’s largest online grocery retailer, on April 6. The expansion will help more in-store and online customers eat healthier and save time grocery shopping with an industry-leading nutrition navigation program that takes the guesswork out of nutrition by decoding food labels into one clear “good,” “better” or “best” rating.
“As more and more consumers prioritize nutrition and look to cook at home, Guiding Stars is an important tool in enabling consumers to easily locate nutritious foods,” said Jim McBride, director of the Guiding Stars program, “Guiding Stars serves as a visual reminder to achieve good nutrition. We’re delighted to work with four more grocery brands to help them make it easier for their customers to make more nutritious choices while they shop and achieve their healthy eating goals.”
Guiding Stars doesn’t tell consumers what to buy, but instead points them toward foods that have more vitamins, minerals, fiber, omega-3s and whole grains — and less trans fat, saturated fat, added sodium, added sugar and artificial colors.
Originally introduced at Hannaford Supermarkets in 2006 and expanded to Food Lion in 2007, Guiding Stars is now available in Stop & Shop’s 410 stores in Conn., Mass., N.J., N.Y and R.I., GIANT/MARTIN’S 171 stores in Pa., Md., Va. and W.Va., Giant Food’s 166 stores in Va, Del., Md., and District of Columbia and for Peapod’s customers, who shop online and pick up in stores or have groceries delivered.
Consistent with national policies, including the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate, Guiding Stars scientifically and objectively evaluates foods and beverages for nutritional value. The patented, published Guiding Stars algorithm looks at specific attributes of foods that should be limited or encouraged and displays the rating on private brand product labels and the shelf tags and signs for regional and national brands.
To prepare for the Guiding Stars launch in Giant Food, GIANT/MARTIN’S, Stop & Shop and Peapod, data for more than 50,000 items was captured and assessed using the algorithm. In total, the Guiding Stars U.S. database has over 93,000 rated products and receipes, and over 37% of those earn one, two or three stars.
About Guiding Stars
Since 2006, the Guiding Stars nutrition guidance program has helped millions of consumers make more nutritious food choices. Guiding Stars Licensing Company is a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize USA. Based on its U.S. and Canadian patented nutrition rating algorithm, the program provides a simple, easy-to-understand tool for making nutritious choices and is designed to make a positive and lasting impact on public health. Guiding Stars is proud to provide nutrition guidance to Hannaford, Food Lion, GIANT/MARTIN’S, Giant Food, and Stop & Shop Supermarkets shoppers in the U.S., as well as the country’s largest online grocery retailer, Peapod. In Canada, Guiding Stars is offered exclusively through Loblaw Companies Limited, and is currently in more than 900 stores from British Columbia to Newfoundland through Loblaws and its affiliated banner stores Atlantic Superstore®, Dominion®, Fortinos®, ProvigoMC, ProvigoMC Le Marche, Real Canadian Superstore®, Save Easy®, Valu-mart®, Your Independent Grocer® and Zehrs®. Guiding Stars can also be found in public school, college, corporate and hospital dining facilities and is accessible through the Shopper mobile app for iOS devices. For more information, visit www.staging.guidingstars.com.
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