UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Nov. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ATNi (Access to Nutrition initiative) is proud to announce the launch of its inaugural US Retail Assessment, examining the nutrition-related policies and practices of the country’s three largest grocery retailers: Walmart, Kroger, and Ahold Delhaize USA: Food Lion. Together, these retailers account for 37% of national grocery sales.
This US assessment is part of ATNi’s multi-country Retail Assessment 2025 which analyzed 18 leading modern food retailers and more than 18,000 store brand products across the United States, France, South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Kenya. Together, these retailers account for an estimated 35–70% of grocery sales through modern retailers in their respective markets, reaching approximately 248-256 million consumers.
With nearly 70% of Americans purchasing their food from supermarkets and supercenters, the availability, pricing, and promotion of products in these stores play a critical role in shaping dietary habits.
As store brand offerings continue to grow in the US, this new report looks at:
- How do retailers’ store brand products compare in terms of healthiness?
- How healthy are the items retailers included in their promotional flyers?
- Are retailers pricing strategies supporting access to healthier food?
The stakes are high. The US faces a worsening obesity crisis, with 40% of adults living with obesity—a figure projected to rise to two-thirds of adults by 2050 without significant intervention.
Key Findings from the US Retail Assessment
1. Healthiness and Levels of Processing of Own Label Products
Over 75% of the store brand products sold by Walmart, Kroger, and Food Lion contain too much sugar, salt, or fat. If you consider additives like colors, flavors, and sweeteners, often used in highly processed foods, more than 80% are considered unhealthy.
Reformulation efforts, such as replacing synthetic dyes with natural colorants, signal progress but do not change products’ UPF classification. Retailers can do more to improve the overall nutritional quality of their products.
2. Pricing and Affordability
Cost remains a major barrier to healthy eating. Walmart and Kroger1 promote affordability as part of their healthy food access strategies, ATNi’s pricing analysis revealed that a healthier food basket is:
- 18.4% more expensive at Walmart
- 58.7% more expensive at Kroger
This disparity underscores the need for targeted fiscal and pricing policies to make nutritious options more accessible.
3. Marketing Practices
ATNi’s review of promotional flyers showed that less than 20% of featured products were healthy:
- Food Lion: 18%
- Kroger: 17%
- Walmart: 5%
This represents a missed opportunity to influence consumer behavior in favor of better nutrition.
A Call to Action
The U.S. Retail Assessment is a clear call for food retailers to take bold steps towards improving the health of their customers. By reformulating products, adjusting pricing strategies, and rethinking marketing practices, retailers can become champions of nutrition and public health.
1 Ahold Delhaize USA (Food Lion) was excluded, due to data collection constraints linked to the company’s strict data protection systems, which prevent automated price scraping.
Media Contact – Philip Eisenhart Philip.eisenhart@accesstonutrition.org
