Health care, retail food, and technology CEOs and chief strategy officers can have a large-scale impact on how we eat — and create long-term value for their companies — by moving beyond siloed efforts and working collaboratively to change the national food ecosystem. The creation of a connected, consumer-centric food ecosystem has the potential to increase nutrition affordability, education, and support. It could also broaden companies’ customer bases, generate new revenue streams from data, and potentially lower long-term health care costs.
Some of the many steps involved in choosing a healthy food include determining which food will help a person meet their health goals, planning meals for the week that fit within a budget, potentially purchasing the ingredients at multiple stores, preparing the food, and logging nutrients, all of which may involve multiple technology platforms. This is especially difficult for the 12 percent of Americans who are food insecure, as there are clear links between food insecurity and obesity.
All innovators face challenges, and these businesses must determine the best partnership structures, including advocating for payment alignment, defining data ownership and sharing, and determining how to approach implementation.
Gaining the trust of customers
To alleviate privacy concerns, payers and employers will need to demonstrate the benefit to their members and employees, as well as genuine support and empathy.
Terms of Partnership
Just as food retailers work with the United States Department of Agriculture’s food and nutritional service food assistance programmes such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to determine payment arrangements, food pricing terms will need to be worked out with payers and self-insurers. Furthermore, in line with value-based care structures, health technology companies should consider pricing models in which a portion of their fees are based on meeting goals for member engagement and satisfaction.
Data application
Payers and self-insured employers will need to develop mechanisms to calculate the return on investment (ROI) of food reimbursement and rewards. While calculating ROI has historically been difficult, additional data gleaned from this new ecosystem may make it easier. Food retailers will need to collaborate with partners to create a system for tracking consumer purchases and related information, such as nutrition facts, and then transfer this information to the health technology application. Furthermore, food retailers will need to adapt their systems to take advantage of increased access to health data to drive operational improvements in areas such as marketing, space planning, demand forecasting, and supply chain management.
Technology advancement and application
While many of the required capabilities exist today, health technology firms tend to specialise in one area. Technology partnerships may be required to create a comprehensive experience that allows users to access these features in one location, and new technology may also be required to share data between health technology and food retail companies.
Building this ecosystem will necessitate companies collaborating with partners they may not have previously considered, as well as reimagining how they collaborate with existing partners. This significant project is complex and will most likely take time to design and implement. They must first identify and evaluate potential partners who can provide complementary services, and then determine partnership structures that benefit both partners and consumers, all with the goal of promoting healthier eating. Health care, retail, and technology companies can collaborate to create a connected, consumer-centric food ecosystem that includes access, education, support, and incentives. This ecosystem has the potential to significantly impact people’s food choices and the health outcomes that result from those choices.
Organic growth initiatives, acquisitions, and partnerships to better connect the food ecosystem could be strategic moves for each of these players, making it easier for consumers to eat healthfully on a consistent basis.
