Life In The Healthy Lane

After two years in the making, Albert Lea Hy-Vee rolled out its Blue Zones checkout lane in January.

While most checkout lanes are stocked full of candy bars, gum and sweet treats attractive to children and adults, the Blue Zones lane features a variety of healthy snacks, including granola bars, carrots, dried fruits, string cheese and flavored water.

Hy-Vee dietitian Amy Pleimling said since the Blue Zones lane opened, the store has seen an average of a 42 percent increase on sales of items featured in the lane. READ MORE

I remember when my kids were small and still fit in a grocery cart I never knew what I actually purchased till I arrived home and unpacked the groceries. The reason Clepto #1 and then Clepto #2 would wait till Dads back was turned and then they would drop a candy bar or two (or three) on the "Motion" belt and Dad was never the wiser, until he unpacked the groceries - Where the hell did this candy bar come from? Cut to Clepto #1 smiling :)
The grocery store marketers know what they're doing, you're done shopping, you're in the checkout line, you're exhausted Little Johnny has flat worn you down - You just want to go HOME.....all of sudden you look to your left and it's a chocolate, potato chip, cookie cornucopia.....ahhhh time for the impulse buy! It works every time and it has for years the bad thing is that it sets a bad example for Little Johnny - shopping = food treats. Marketing's job is complete.
Enter Hy-Vee and the Blue Zone. Checkout lanes stocked with some healthy alternatives. Child friendly and for that matter adult friendly. the best part is that the Marketing Dept. can still smile "the store has seen an average of a 42 percent increase on sales of items featured in the lane." We'd all like to see a 42% increase on a featured item.
We, as the consumer, are still faced with the impulse buy and as we all know those "Healthy Nuts" are very high in calories so you can still be faced with weight gain, but if nothing else it does show us and our kids that there are alternatives if you just take a moment to think about it.