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Yes, we’re going to be integrating gluten-free products into the bigger world of the store. But WAIT!! If you think we’re just going to randomly stick gluten-free crackers on the shelf next to regular crackers, you’re wrong! We promise this move will make your gluten-free shopping bigger, better and easier than ever.We believe grocery shopping is somewhat intuitive; when you think of pasta, for instance, you think of a whole picture that includes pastas, sauces, canned tomatoes, pestos, etc. You will now find a full 4-foot section of gluten-free pasta (that’s clearly marked on both the shelf and the floor in front of it) surrounded by the sauces, pestos, tomato products and more. The same goes for cookies, crackers, baking ingredients, cereals and frozen products.

Many gluten-free products have already been moved due to the expanding number of products available. They’ve been on our shelves for months, and many gluten-free guests just assumed we’d discontinued them. You will be happy to see many of your favorites again.

Oh course, we want your feedback and we will get back to you pronto! But trust us, we have given this move much thought. And after a couple of years of not being able to fit all GF products into the current area, and talking to countless other market owners and distributors, we think the move is a great one. Your favorite gluten-free products will be marked with special signs to make them easy to find, we’ll have updated store maps like this one (we’ll include in the post) to help you find the gluten-free sections, and our helpful Guest Services staff would be happy to help you find whatever you need!

 

Why are we integrating our GF section?

• Over the past few years the GF category has grown extremely rapidly. There are so many GF products on the market now that we can’t fit them all in our designated GF section. Because of this many of our GF items are already integrated in the store. We believe that by integrating everything it will make it easier for people to find everything they are looking for.

• Which brings me to my next point…we believe that it’s more intuitive for people to shop based on category than by dietary need. For example, you think “I need GF pasta” and if you’ve never been in our store before your instinct is to look with pasta. We want to make shopping easy and intuitive for all our guests, old and new.

• Most all grocery stores are merchandising GF products this way now. When large numbers of people do things a certain way there is usually a good reason!

• There are many items on our shelves that are naturally GF. These items might go undiscovered by our GF guests because they have only been shopping in one corner of the store. And vice versa, some non-GF people might want to try a GF item, but have never gotten the chance because they have never ventured into the GF section. We want to give all our guests the most well rounded and fullest selection of items to choose from in a way that makes total sense! If everything is merchandised together, how will I know what’s GF and what’s not? Within each set in each aisle there will be a designated GF set. This will look like a block of shelving, clearly labeled “Gluten Free,” where all the GF items in that section live. For example, in crackers you will have a 4-foot section of shelves where there GF crackers are all merchandised together, clearly marked and easy to navigate. This will save you time, eliminating the need to read every label!  Think of it like a mini GF section within each large section!

What will be in the aisle where GF used to be?

• Exciting changes!!  We will be creating designated Bakery area where GF used to be. All of our bread, cookies, cakes, pies, etc. will now live in this new Bakery section. GF baked goods will be integrated here as well! And the freezers will be full of frozen bread and baked good as well as frozen pie shells, doughs etc. We think it’s going to be beautiful, make a lot of sense and relieve congestion in the currently cramped bread and cookie areas.

I am worried about contamination – what do you do to prevent this?

• We take great care in doing everything we can at Healthy Living to prevent cross contamination, but of course we’re not perfect!  All of our made without gluten products should be packaged to prevent contamination from other sources. We will merchandise GF and regular items in a way that there is minimal potential for contamination. Healthy Living is NOT a GF facility. Though we make many items in house without the use of glutinous ingredients, we also produce many products that DO contain gluten. We follow strict sanitation guidelines set by the VT Dept of Health, but we cannot control flour dust and other minute factors for cross contamination in our food prep, receiving or storage areas. For this reason our house made items are labeled “Made without gluten.” No matter how anything is labeled we encourage you, our guests, to read the labels on the products you choose and buy according to your personal preferences/needs.