Secrets to Supermarket Shopping Pt. 2

The modern mass food outlet has quite rightly earned the title of the 'super' market. This is because they have become marketing masterminds and know exactly what it takes to increase the sales at the checkouts. It is simply astounding the lengths that these corporations go to to make maximum profit.

• bogof: the buy one get one free deal has been a master stroke for increasing sales for some time. Whilst we have become used to these sales tactics many consumers will still go out of their way to find these offers to maximise their savings. The deals have evolved a bit and now we also see by 2 get the third free or even half price deals. Have you ever wondered how they make profit on such deals? Perhaps they accept a loss on these products to make sales elsewhere? Perhaps the food products are so cheap to make even a bogof deal makes money? Whilst it is true many of the foods on such value offers are low quality, devitalized foods, the bottom line is the supermarkets use the same sales trick to make this type of deal pay off. Supermarkets create a subtle pressure on the original manufacturer to pay for the 'get one free'! Ever noticed that it is rarely the supermarket own brand products that are offered on a bogof deal? It is always other brands. The reason these manufacturers agree to this is to guarantee prime shelf space on the supermarket aisles. Supermarkets have proven that end of aisle space and central shelf space (at eye level) always gets the most sales. These prime spaces are most often given over to deals paid for by the company or brand name occupying the space. The brand pays for the optimal selling space and covers the cost of every get one free item. This is a double win for the supermarket. They are seen as offering the best deals and therefore attract more customers into the store and they also increase their sales numbers using bogof deals so that their added profit margins go up as well. The problem is that the majority of foods on bogof deals are of little nutritional value, so for optimising health these foods may as well 'bogof'.

• in a packet, sack it: One of the most powerful stimuli in the supermarket sales arsenal is the way foods look. This is why so many foods within the supermarket are in tins, cardboard boxes, bags or any other kind of package. A package allows the company to improve the appearance and look of a food and to present it to you in an appealing way. In many cases we can't even see the food we are purchasing because the packaging doesn't allow us, however, in these products there is almost always a stunning image of what the food inside promises to be like, the 'super model' food photo on the front! How often have you purchased a food item like this and when you open it the actual food inside is a sorry imitation of the food advertised on the packet? Again so often the foods in packaging is of poor quality, nutritionally speaking. Manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure safety and there is no doubt the food inside a packet will be edible and cause you no immediate harm, but often packaged food will do little to nourish you either. So a good general rule to help here is if the food is in an opaque packet...sack it! Only buy food you can see. It really helps to judge the quality.

• fruit to fit: Visual appearance is such a powerful sales tool that the supermarkets even use this to govern the fresh produce that they purchase. You would think that it would be important that fruit and vegetables were the most nutritious they could be and well farmed to reach a good price. But the reality is that the farmers who grow for the supermarkets have a long list of appearance requirements to ensure their produce can be sold as class A fruit and vegetables. Anyone who has ever grown their own tomatoes will know that they come in all shapes and sizes, different shades of green, yellow and red, they often have little blemishes and one plant can have hard, just right and too soft tomatoes all at the same moment in time. However, the supermarkets know that for the best sales of their fruit and veg they must meet certain appearance criteria in order to appeal most to the consumer and therefore create the most sales. If any of the following criteria are found in a batch of tomatoes they would most certainly be rejected by the supermarket: more than 5% of the batch not specific uniform size, light scarring or blemishes, angular or misshapen tomatoes, any tomatoes that are not between 3-6 on the colour chart, soft tomatoes or tomatoes at different stages of development in the same box. Dessert apples have to be 60-75mm, have the right shading of green to red and have no russet (skin discolouration) in the stem cavity. Most supermarkets look for potatoes that meet the 50-80mm specification as the optimum size, and even a head of broccoli must be a specific size and stalk length. These requirements are virtually impossible for the farmer to meet in order to have his produce sold. this forces them to use modern industrial methods of farming in many cases to try and meet such stringent criteria. Ridiculous that nutrition, quality, and solid farming practices are not as important as looks! Forget how the produce looks, be more concerned with the farming standards adhered to that may provide an indication of quality. Ensure it is grown locally, which in the supermarket means in the country you live in. Sometimes you may be lucky enough to find it grown in the region you live in. Avoid overseas fruit and veg where possible. If you cannot avoid it, then at least ensure it is organic and fair trade. That way it will have a minimum quality guarantee and you know that the farmers growing it are not being pressured and exploited by the supermarkets. Well not too much.

Shopping at the supermarket in a way that will improve your health and vitality takes practice. Now is always the best time to get started and learn to beat them at their own game. Supermarkets want to make maximum profit and therefore need to sell you food that is cheaper to produce at a higher price, which will always involve methods that minimise nutrient density. We want to shop for food that is high in quality and nutrition without getting ripped off in the process. So avoid the high selling, profitable locations on the shelves; end of aisle and eye level. Look for products high and low on the shelves. Avoid cheaper foods in solid packaging, only buy packaged products if you can see the real food item inside and you are confident of the quality. Finally don't get lured purely by the looks of fresh produce. Seek for local, organic produce where possible. Happy shopping!

Please feel free to leave a comment about this blog and offer any of your own suggestions for shopping smart in the big supermarkets!