Healthy eaters in your shop: a top stock list

Mark Bittman writes an excellent article in Time on How to Eat Now encouraging people to eat at home because it’s good for you, for your family and it’s far easier than you think.

He challenges why so many people are eating “hyperprocessed food, the stuff that is correctly called junk and should really carry warning labels.”

He believes preparing food should be a source of comfort, pride, health, well-being, relaxation and sociability for people. Something that connects us to other humans.

The solution to the obesity epidemic he says is to do it yourself, eat meals and stop gaining 25% of our daily calories from snacks.

Helpfully, Time prints a list of store cupboard basics so that you know what to stock for local shoppers who subscribe to the above ideas.

Here are Mark’s pantry basics. How many do you stock?

Spices and herbs

· Salt and black pepper

· Ground cumin

· Chili powder

· Fresh herbs

· Dried chilis

Oils and condiments

· Extra virgin olive oil

· Soy sauce

Staples

· Pasta or other noodles

· Canned beans

· Coconut milk

· Stock

Long-storing fruit and vegetables

· Onions

· Garlic

· Lemons and limes

· Frozen vegetables

Long-storing dairy and meat

· Eggs

· Butter.

Time adds the following in each section:

· Spices and herbs: curry powder, smoked paprika, dried thyme, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried dill, dried sage, garlic powder, ground ginger, cayenne.

· Oils and condiments: vegetable oil, sherry or wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, mustard, mayonnaise, hot sauces, ketchup, fish sauce, rice vinegar, dark sesame oil, barbecue sauce.

· Staples: rice, whole grains, dried beans, oil-packed tuna, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, peanut butter, nuts or seeds, honey or maple syrup, anchovies or sardines.

· Long-storing fruit and vegetables: ginger root, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage, frozen fruit, celery root, squashes, shallots, oranges, apples.

· Long-storing dairy and meat: bacon or ham, milk or cream, yoghurt, Parmesan cheese, other hard cheeses, Ricotta cheese, goat cheese, sour cream.

The launch of the 2009 IAA

We are launching the 2009 Independent Achievers Academy tomorrow in London with a group of retailers and suppliers. The marketing team have come up with a great practical exercise to help us relive the Academy experience. At its heart, the IAA has a simple concept: set a goal, plan to hit it and celebrate the outcome. I hope to learn lots from participants and will pass this learning on to you.

What do shoppers see

I read a good post (http://www.newsagencyblog.com.au/2009/08/28/what-do-newsagents-charge-for-faxing.html) asking what price local shops charge for providing a fax service. The blogger had attached a photograph of his sign with his prices on it. What struck me was the message on the sign. "You drop, we fax," it said. "Pressed for time, drop your documents with us and we'll do it for you at no extra charge." That is a message that will persuade most shoppers that you want to give them good value, even if they stay to do the copying or faxing themselves.

Local advantage? Sainsbury's boss argues it is from his stores.

Online businesses don't pay local taxes, Sainsbury's boss Justin King argues in a big CityAM interview spread. Unlike the web retail businesses, Sainsbury's "pay business rates at a local level" and "employ people locally" and "pay people locally" and "they spend their earnings locally". "If we are seeing a shift in consumer behaviour towards purchasing online rather than their local store then the government will have to address that the tax system is being usurped by a change in behaviour," he adds. The point to notice here is that connection of Sainsbury's with "local shop". It is spin. But very effective spin. As any independent retailers who have talked to their MPs about competition from multiples will know, the grocers are very successful at projecting the "local" benefits that they will bring. Perhaps 10 years ago this was true. But supported by a better supply chain, independent...

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