Health and wellness is a key part of business model for Raley’s Family of Fine Stores. When it comes to true customer engagement and customer loyalty, sometimes it’s the simplest of ideas that can gain immediate traction.
In an ongoing effort to spread its message of health and wellness, Raley’s Family of Fine Stores is providing free fruit to children in stores while parents shop. Baskets of fruit (typically apples, bananas, or in-season oranges) are placed at the entrance of each store as a nutritious snack option for kids under the age of 12.
Chelsea Minor, Director of Public Relations and Public Affairs for Raley’s, told Loyalty360 that the idea came “very organically.”
“Stores started doing it and it picked up like wildfire,” Minor explained. “After it caught on at 60%-70% of our stores organically, the executive team wanted to make it a consistent platform across the company. It’s everywhere now and is a standard for the company. It (the reception from people) has been incredible. It’s a way we can bridge customer loyalty between stores, since each of them has their own Facebook page and pictures promoting this are being posted. People want to share that Raley’s is doing this.”
Raley’s has held a strong bond with its customers for the past 81 years, as the family-owned company has garnered significant brand loyalty from various generations. In this day and age of complexity with so many food choices, combined with so many health-conscious Americans, Raley’s wants to engage its customer base via a new, multi-dimensional campaign and share its vision of health and wellness with its loyal patrons.
Raley’s is a privately owned, family operated supermarket chain with headquarters in West Sacramento, CA. The company operates 121 stores in Northern California and Nevada under four banners: Raley’s Supermarkets, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods, and Food Source. Raley’s was founded in 1935 by Tom Raley and is a major grocery chain best known for high quality products, fresh produce, fine meats, and outstanding customer service.
Minor said that all Raley’s stores take every quality assurance/food safety precaution regarding filling the fruit baskets and restocking them throughout the day.
“There is a definite quality level with our fruit,” she said. “These aren’t second-day old items. They are fresh from our produce departments and they’re restocked several times a day. And it’s exposing children to fruit at earlier ages.”
As Raley’s promotes its vision of wellness, Minor said, making fresh fruit as accessible as possible to children who are so early on in their personal food journeys can help create better dietary choices/practices later in life.
Considering that 87% of Americans don’t meet recommendations for daily fruit consumption, Raley’s free fruit baskets for children under 12 seems like a very logical and practical move.
Launched Aug. 1, the “Let’s Begin” campaign is a multi-dimensional effort to share Raley’s vision of health and wellness with customers; inviting others to take small steps toward a healthier lifestyle through education, personal goal-setting, and sharing.