Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is scheduled to remove partially hydrogenated vegetable oils from its private label food brands by the end of the month, well ahead of federal mandates calling for removal by 2018.
Rules regarding the use of partially hydrogenated oils and other industrially produced trans fat were published by the Food and Drug Administration in 2015. Wal-Mart has been working to eliminate the ingredients since 2011. Additionally, the retailer is working to reduce sodium and sugar content in its Great Value products and asking national brands to do the same.
"We spent a lot of time talking with and learning from customers about their concerns and their health," Jack Pestello, senior vice president of private brands for Wal-Mart, wrote in an interview conducted via email. "Our decision to focus on PHOs, sodium and added sugars was the result of these conversations with customers, as well as working closely with industry leaders and health experts. It's worth noting that the reformulation was done across private and national brands."
The FDA announced in 2013 that there was no longer a consensus on how safe partially hydrogenated oils were to include in foods. Heart disease is one of the health risks associated with consumption of trans fat.
While tweaking its private label food to meet the FDA rules, Wal-Mart also has been taking steps to reduce sodium in its private brands and national brands by 25 percent. Work has been ongoing to reduce sugars used by 10 percent.
Wal-Mart met its sugar goal by the end of 2015 and is currently tracking "about 5 percent behind our sodium reduction goal." More details on its reduction efforts will be released in April as part of the retailer's sustainability report.
According to the retailer it has successfully removed a combined 30 tons of sodium from 36 million bags of its Great Value potato and kettle chips. It also found sodium content varied between plants producing its Great Value breads and research led to a more standardized process.
Changes were implemented incrementally to keep customers from noticing a drastic change in taste or quality. Reduction in sodium is ongoing for 47 processed food categories, including cheeses, cereals, crackers and canned tomatoes.
Taste tests were conducted internally and with customers to achieve current standards. Panelists were quizzed on flavor, aroma, texture and appearance as the recipes were tweaked.
"For reformulations, a key learning was to make small formula changes which did not impact our customers vs. large changes over a longer time frame," Pestello wrote. "We learned there were a lot of items that contained partially hydrogenated oils, but there was no functional reasons for them to be in the formulas, so we eliminated or identified substitutes quite quickly."
Research from the Food Marketing Institute reveals that 41 percent of customers are concerned with the levels of sodium in their food and 38 percent are seeking products that are low in sugar. While 80 percent of those surveyed feel they bear the most responsibility in picking nutritious foods, 42 percent feel that manufacturers are responsible. Of consumers surveyed by the Food Marketing Institute, 41 percent said stores should be responsible for helping increase healthful food options for customers.
"Better-for-you brands and ingredient transparency absolutely matters to consumers, particularly much-coveted millennials," retail consultant Carol Spieckerman, president of Spieckerman Retail, wrote in an email.
"Wal-Mart is competing against many retailers that are taking this seriously, and not just the usual suspects like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and regional health food chains," Spieckerman added. "Kroger's organic and health-focused Simple Truth private brand rakes in over $1 billion in annual sales, for example. Consumer expectations are one driver but volume opportunities await on the other side. Wal-Mart's ongoing health tweaks to its private brands will keep national brands on their toes. Through private-brand creation, retailers learn a lot about granular ingredient and nutritional profiles so there will be no excuses."
Reducing sodium and sugar levels in its private brands also provided Wal-Mart with an example it can show its suppliers. The retailer said it isn't asking national brands for something it hasn't considered with its own products.
"We are always a voice for our customers, both in conversations with suppliers and as we develop our private brand items," Pestello wrote. "We find that innovation comes more quickly if we are taking the same steps with our private brand products and sharing challenges and successes with our suppliers."
Business on 02/13/2016