Personalized Health and Nutrition: A Significant Growth Opportunity in Retail

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

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Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

If I look back to just three years ago in our industry, two primary leadership teams held responsibility for operationalized health and wellness initiatives in food retail – pharmacy (59 percent) and nutrition (50 percent) leadership teams. Now we’re witnessing an entire category of managers for health and wellness leadership: 71 percent of these professionals are focused experts leading the decision-making process on how programs are established and operationalized.

By: Sue Borra, RD, Chief Health and Wellness Officer for FMI and Executive Director of the FMI Foundation <a href="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/retail-contribution-to-health-and-wellness-image.jpg?sfvrsn=115d706e_0"><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/retail-contribution-to-health-and-wellness-image.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=115d706e_1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Retail Contribution to Health and Wellness Image" title="Retail Contribution to Health and Wellness Image" data-openoriginalimageonclick="true" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></a> They say good things happen in threes, and for the food retail industry, three trends are propelling opportunities for food retail business that also better the lives of their customers. The convergence of the changing health care environment; consumers’ interest in having a closer connection to their food; and supermarket-solution-provider capabilities all create the potential for dynamic relationships between the food retailer and the shopper. As a nutrition educator by training, I view this convergence of factors as a trifecta for positive behavior change. If I look back to just three years ago in our industry, two primary leadership teams held responsibility for operationalized health and wellness initiatives in food retail – pharmacy (59 percent) and nutrition (50 percent) leadership teams. Now we’re witnessing an entire category of managers for health and wellness leadership: 71 percent of these professionals are focused experts leading the decision-making process on how programs are established and operationalized. FMI's <a href="https://www.fmi.org/industry-topics/health-wellness" style="font-style: italic;">Retailer Contributions to Health & Wellness 2017</a> report explores these trends playing out in the aisles of local grocery stores, and what’s most encouraging to me is that we have witnessed commitment at the highest level of the companies for health and wellness initiatives, with 46 percent of survey respondents saying their president and CEO shares responsibility. This support from the top creates an environment for more effective collaboration between the traditional harbors of wellness – the pharmacists (nearly 100 percent) and dietitians (90 percent at corporate, regional and store) who remain prominent in the grocery store setting. This is illustrated by the fact that 75 percent of stores (up 52 percent in 2014) report that their pharmacists and dietitians are collaborating by referring customers to each other. In fact, the analysis finds that 58 percent report working together to develop programs and 33 percent collaborate to make specific recommendations.  <img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/report-cover-with-border17f8170324aa67249237ff0000c12749.tmb-small.png?sfvrsn=cb52706e_1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Retail Contributions to Health and Wellness 2017 Report Cover" title="Retail Contributions to Health and Wellness 2017 Report Cover" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" /> The majority of food retailers in this survey currently view supermarket health and wellness programs as a significant business growth opportunity for the entire industry in the years ahead, which is significantly up by 70 percent since 2014 when we last surveyed our members. Eighty-nine percent of food retailers have established health and wellness programs for customers, employees or both, and 96 percent are committed to expanding programs in their stores. In supporting a consumer’s desire for a greater connection through food and having access to resources that make shopping informative and convenient, food retailers are creating winning health and wellness strategies. These business approaches are in turn influencing brands’ outward communications tactics and personalizing their messaging. The analysis identified that the more customizable the tactic, the greater the perception of effectiveness. For instance, social media is pervasively used at 93 percent, but has an effectiveness score of 6.95 out of 10, compared to the 52 percent of businesses employing in-store store dietitians with an effectiveness rating of 9. <a href="https://www.fmi.org/industry-topics/health-wellness">Retailer Contributions to Health & Wellness 2017</a> offers convincing arguments for integrated business and communications plans that directly respond to customer demands. Take it from a registered dietitian: I’ve learned in my food and nutrition career that success is best measured by how personal you can get when it comes to consumer health.

Read full article on FMI

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Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.