Centra Live Well

Centra announced that it is launching a major new initiative – Centra Live Well.  This initiative will redefine everyday convenience retailing in Ireland by providing shoppers with choices and information about healthy and nutritious food. Under the new Live Well banner Centra is offering shoppers healthy and nutritious choices across a range of 300 plus products whatever their needs are throughout the day. In addition Centra will provide health and nutrition information in-store and on its extensive digital and social channels which will educate, inspire and ultimately encourage shoppers to make that healthier choice. The Centra Live Well initiative will also be encouraging people to add activity to their daily routine through walking initiatives and involvement in Centra’s GAA community events.

The essence of Centra Live Well is about helping people make a healthier choice when they are on-the-go with a real focus on overall nutrition and balanced, healthy eating. Centra worked with Sarah Keogh, Consultant Dietician with Eatwell.ie and a member of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute to help define the range and highlight foods with nutritional benefits.

The Centra Live Well initiative is being driven under three key pillars:

1.       Healthy and Nutritious Choices

Healthy and Nutritious Choices is all about making it easier for Centra customers to identify and choose the healthier options across a wide range of products. At breakfast time there is the choice of porridge or scrambled egg instead of the breakfast roll. At lunchtime you could swap spicy wedges for a chicken & wholegrain salad. If you are on-the-go and fancy a quick snack, instead of sweets, there are fruit pots, health bar or nuts options. At the end of the day there are fresh stir frys.

To encourage shoppers to make that healthier choice throughout a Centra store, there will be very clear Live Well options in terms of choosing a healthier alternative. Alongside sweets and chocolate there will be nuts and healthy bars.  Given the importance of hydration in a healthy daily diet more space has been created for water and other healthier impulse drinks options resulting in a 27% reduction in calories across the entire range. The introduction of products such as kale or pomegranate, being a source of vitamins A, C and K, will offer shoppers nutritious additions to soups, smoothies and salads. The Health and Wellbeing section contains a wide range of products including tahini paste, quinoa, proteins and vitamins

2.       Educate and Inspire

The second key pillar of Centra Live Well will be to inspire and educate shoppers about making those healthier choices. Throughout a Centra store shoppers will be informed about convenient ways to achieve a balanced diet; helpful information will feature across packaging including a traffic light food guide to make it easier for shoppers to make that well informed decision.  Tips on products and what they are a source of will also be a feature.  In addition Centra’s popular digital (www.centra.ie/livewell) and social channels (Facebook & Twitter) will dedicate significant resources to promote the Live Well message on healthy living and dietary information. Tips from dietitian Sarah Keogh and easy recipes will help shoppers kick start a healthy lifestyle.

3.       Activity

The third pillar of Centra Live Well will be to encourage, through a combination of existing Centra sponsorships and partnerships, customers and the wider population to get moving and include some exercise in their daily lives.

As part of Centra’s GAA Hurling Championship sponsorship, this summer over 4,000 children throughout the country will take part in hurling camps.  These camps are supported by some of the game’s biggest stars including Centra Ambassador and ten times All Ireland medal winner Henry Shefflin. For the first time a session on good diet and nutrition is also included in the day’s events for both participants and parents.

Local retailers will be driving community initiatives to encourage people to get walking by participating in Centra walking clubs.  At a national level Centra will be encouraging people to walk as part of their ongoing support for Action Breast Cancer. Other Live Well initiatives will be announced in the coming months.

Speaking at the launch Sarah Keogh, Consultant Dietitian with Eatwell.ie and a member of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute said “I am delighted to be working with Centra on Live Well.  I find too many people are confused about healthy eating or think that it is simply too difficult.  I meet lots of people caught up in the idea of the perfect diet, the “all-or-nothing” approach which is hard to sustain or even to achieve for most people.  Live Well is about making the healthier choice the easier choice when it comes to choosing food.  It is not about perfect eating but about guiding people to healthier options when choosing food as well as highlighting that a healthy lifestyle involves being physically active.  I look forward to continuing to work with Centra as Live Well develops and grows and I look forward to dropping into Centra for some healthy options when I am out and about as well”.