Rodale Wins Supermarket News Excellence Award

Rodale has been named a 2008 Supermarket News Category Excellence Awards silver medal winner in the non-foods category.

The awards honor supermarket industry suppliers within various categories judged to “best serve retailers’ needs” based on criteria including in-store execution, assortment/portfolio, innovation, putting shopper insights into action, supply-chain connectivity, category management, collaboration and marketing. Retailers, industry experts and key associations nominate the candidates, and are interviewed as part of the assessment process.

Rodale was cited for contributing to overall store sales by serving consumers’ need for authoritative health and wellness information. SN reported that both retailers and consumers view Rodale as “synonymous” with health and wellness, adding that retailers related many instances of shoppers requesting specific products after reading about them in Rodale publications such as Prevention, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Bicycling and Runner’s World.

In addition, retailers lauded Rodale for backing respected research about health and wellness trends—including working with the Food Marketing Institute on a “Shopping for Health” study—and for effectively employing temporary price reductions and cents-off coupon promotions.

The limited-time in-store promotions run currently with point-of-sale displays, “provide exceptional value to the consumer in savings, encourage repeat purchase, and underscore the strong working relationship built between the vendor and the retailer when properly executed,” noted Rodale VP, retail sales Richard Alleger.
 
Wisner Marketing Group president Jim Wisner cited Rodale’s “significant investment in the supermarket industry” through its “unique role in health and wellness.”