Utilization of a Point-of-Purchase Marketing Technique to Increase Healthy

Food Purchases in a Hospital Cafeteria

,

N. Brasch, L. Duly, G. Potievsky

Aramark Distance Learning Dietetic Internship Program, 2015-2016

INTRODUCTION

IMPLEMENTATION

With heightened rates of obesity, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in the United
States, Americans express ongoing concern over the healthfulness of their food and beverage choices.
Aramarks mission, to Deliver experiences that enrich and nourish lives, is seen in their Healthy for
LifeTM program. This program is designed to drive healthier lifestyles among consumers in Aramark
cafes, and includes prescribed Eat Well menu items and signage for all facilities. To support Aramarks
Healthy for LifeTM initiatives, while promoting sales and profitability, a healthy ingredients advertising
initiative was developed by the dietetic internship program.

BACKGROUND
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics maintains the position that the
overall dietary pattern is the most important aspect of healthy eating for
weight maintenance and disease prevention. Many Americans
purchase several meals each week outside of the home, so it is
important that food choices can be easily navigated for nutritional
content. Interventions in food service establishments that provide pointof-purchase nutrition information have been successful in their effort to
encourage healthy eating behavior. Influential marketing tactics have
the ability to cause shoppers to make point-of-purchase decisions, and
should be considered as a means to improve the health of consumers
purchasing food outside of the home.

POP Intervention
Techniques Used in
Prior Studies

With RDNs as staff members, a hospital setting presents an ideal

environment for point-of-purchase nutrition education to take place.
The general mission of a hospital is to improve health and wellness
through quality care. In all areas, hospitals strive to encourage healthy
living and improve quality of life. Given the fact that most hospital
customers are lunch-break employees with limited time to spend
browsing available options, specific targeted interventions should guide
an easier selection process by occurring prior to the customer arriving
to the cafeteria.
Emerging trends in advertising include utilizing social media as an
advertising technique for point-of-purchase interventions. Social media
is a great way to provide health information to customers, influencing
selections that can improve quality of the diet and overall health.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the current study is to increase healthy food purchases in a hospital cafeteria by
providing customers with point-of-purchase nutrition information constructed by the hospitals Food and
Nutrition Department.

Hospital
Interventions

CONCLUSIONS
With the constant evolution of the food industry, labeling and advertising can be overwhelming to
consumers when trying to distinguish healthy products. The current study aimed to increase
healthy food purchases in a hospital cafeteria by providing customers with POP nutrition
information. The results of the study are important to the dietetics profession, as findings reflect
the need for more research outlining POP techniques that highlight nutritional information and
that have the potential to improve health status of consumers.

Items with
Highest Sales
Frequency
Prior to
Intervention

Additional research should attempt to determine which advertising techniques show the best
outcome for increasing sales of healthy products. Future studies are needed that focus on
emerging trends in advertising, such as social media and digital advertising, to share healthy
benefits of food items with consumers. If consumers are more receptive to food items when
nutritional information is provided by a trusted source, the credibility of dietitians will be
reinforced, and the health of consumers will improve.

Study Setting & Initiative

Highlighted Food Items

Advertising Technique

The study was conducted in three healthcare

facility cafeterias managed by Aramark in Bryn
Mawr, Pennsylvania; Williamsport, Pennsylvania;
and Houston, Texas. Hospital demographics can be
best summarized across the three facilities as
follows: The majority of cafeteria customers are
employees (averaging 95%), between the ages of
35-49 years old (averaging 37%), and female
(averaging 80%).
Customers were notified prior to the intervention
that a healthy lunch initiative was to be taking place
for six weeks, and informed of the placement of
such advertisements (i.e. Instagram, the hospital
website, or flyers). The intervention was designed
to provide immediate nutrition education related to
specific food items included in the facilities current
cafeteria menus and retail sales inventory.

Advertising occurred the day that each item was to

be sold in the cafeteria, in an effort to serve as a
point-of-purchase sales technique. Twelve food
items were advertised across six weeks. In order to
maintain consistency and decrease variables among
the three hospitals, three weeks of preparation took
place prior to implementation of the marketing
materials. Specific ingredients and recipes were
predetermined to ensure that all items were
consistent among hospital cafeteria menus. Items
were chosen based on availability across all three
hospitals. Any nutritional claims or phrases used in
advertisements were made according to the Food
and Drug Administration labeling guidelines and the
American Heart Association labeling guidelines.

A combination of advertising techniques was used

in the intervention. Each hospital used a method
best fit for its facility structure. Advertising
techniques included social media (Instagram and
hospital websites), newsletters, and flyers. Flyers
with similar messages were created with minor
changes to reflect each hospitals environment. An
Instagram account was created (@heritage.cafe)
for the Williamsport Regional Medical Center
(WRMC). WRMC also utilized an LCD screen,
weekly newsletter, and flyers. Bryn Mawr Hospital
(BMH) marketed with flyers and the hospitals
Intranet website. Baylor St. Lukes Medical Center
(BSLMC) utilized solely flyers for its
advertisements.

Directions for Future Research: Emerging Trends in POP

Marketing Interventions

CONTACT INFORMATION
EVALUATION
A total of eighteen different food items were marketed and advertised between the three hospitals. It was found that the
number of items sold was increased for eight of the cafe items, decreased for nine of the cafe items, and there was no
difference for one cafe item. In some cases, more than one advertising method was used for each food item. When items
were advertised using two combined methods, an average increase in sales of 2.7 items was seen. Based on the type of
advertising method used, the effect on sales of advertised items varied. Overall, a combination of two marketing
techniques that included flyers and Intranet provided the best results.

For additional information, please contact:

Flyers
Alone

Flyers +
Instagram

Flyers +
Intranet

Average Increase or
Decrease in # of Items Sold

In an effort to focus specifically on social media as an emerging advertising trend, Instagram was further assessed for its
impact on item sales. Utilizing the Instagram account, twenty-three posts were made and thirty-five followers were gained.
The average number of likes was 3.7 with a range from 1 - 11 and the average number of comments was zero with a
range from 0 - 1.
Overall, results indicate a decrease in sales of 7.17 items (on average) when nutritional information was advertised. A ttest was conducted to analyze the significance of the data collected, with P=0.66, suggesting a high probability that the
observed results were due to chance. In this case the null hypothesis, that nutritional advertising is not effective in
increasing sales in a hospital cafeteria, was accepted.

Currents +
Instagram

-21.3

-9

-3.25

Natalie Brasch, Dietetic Intern

Aramark Distance Learning Dietetic Internship Program
brasch-natalie@aramark.com
Lara Duly, Dietetic Intern
Aramark Distance Learning Dietetic Internship Program
duly-lara@aramark.com
Gabriella Potievsky, Dietetic Intern
Aramark Distance Learning Dietetic Internship Program
potievsky-gabriella@aramark.com

11.9

Amy Demage, MS, RD, LDN

Dietetic Internship Program Manager
Aramark Distance Learning Dietetic Internship Program
demage-amy@aramark.com
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