Harris Teeter blends wellness, pharmacy


One way for a supermarket to convey its health-and-wellness commitment to customers is to build a marketing campaign around it. 


In Harris Teeter’s case, the campaign is “Yourwellness.” Now in its sixth year, the initiative offers “evidence-based guidance on important health issues” and help with nutritional choices throughout the store, according to the company.


Offerings include a Yourwellness e-newsletter, interactive online applications and nutritional tags on products throughout the stores, along with advice from nutritional experts via online videos, blogs and e-newsletters. A membership card offers discounts on such healthcare services as eyeglasses, contact lenses, dental cleanings, X-rays, fillings, vitamins, hearing aids and diabetic supplies, along with prescriptions.


At the company’s more than 125 pharmacies, customers can qualify for discounted flu shots, $4 generics, an automatic refill program and a follow-up phone program by pharmacists, along with a new MedFlash program that provides up-to-date, password-protected access to their prescription records.


Harris Teeter also appeals to health-conscious consumers with big selections of organic foods, an in-store Fishermans Market that promotes sustainable fishing practices and partnerships with local fishermen, a Fresh Foods Market, its own brand of Earth Wise wines and a range of environmental initiatives under a program it dubs My Earth that encompass everything from packaging reduction and recycling to cultivating locally grown and organic produce.


Based near Charlotte, N.C., Harris Teeter is steadily expanding its upscale store format. The chain passed a milestone in September with the opening of its 200th supermarket in Manassas, Va. Since then, new units have sprouted in Washington, D.C.; Norfolk, Va.; and in Wake Forest and Hampstead, N.C., bringing store count to 204 units in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia.