"Guiding Stars" Goes On-pack

On 4 October 2008, I discussed "Guiding Stars", the nutritional assessment programme from Hannaford Brothers, and explained their strategy:

• Develop an indisputable tool to assess all the products sold on the shelves (including products from national brands) - only 23% had right to a one star minimum!
• Indicate the healthiest products using shelf placards;
• Measure the effect on sales - sales 2 to 4 times higher (depending on category) than products without stars;
• Extend this system to all Delhaize’s U.S. subsidiaries;
• ... then offer Guiding Stars under license to any dealer wishing to implement it.  

The Delhaize Group has just entered a new phase in its strategy: It is displaying on-pack stars on its private brands (Mypbrand.com thank you for the information and photo). It just launched a new private label for children "Good 4 Kids", and "Simple Living" this month, which bear the stars of Guiding Stars!

Thus the national brands are completely encircled : "Guiding Stars", recognized as a reliable system, is displayed on shelf placards (for national brands) – thereby showing up the products that do not carry them, with on-pack stars seen only on the Delhaize private label brands. This initiative plunges many distributors into the heart of the debate on nutrition – barely a few months after the abject failure of the Smart Choices "on pack" indicator launched by ConAgra, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft, PepsiCo, Unilever, etc.