Chile Changes the Game: Healthier Advertising and Optimizing Performance

Can you believe the impact of Chile's healthy eating policy, which has reduced kids' exposure to unhealthy food advertising on TV by a staggering 73%? How about the fact that general advertising has also decreased by 64%? We're excited to share our exploration of Chile's ambitious food labeling and advertising laws and discuss why the FDA should really take some notes from Chile and Mexico.

We've also got some juicy insights on July 4th BBQ trends and pricing. And a heated debate over Costco's new mango smoothie. Plus, we preview our Lost in the Supermarket interview with Amy Fox, founder of the Food and Mood Lab, to learn how our food choices can directly affect our performance. And if that's not enough, we'll also reveal some compelling research on the potential health benefits of taurine, an amino acid found in energy drinks. Don't miss this episode packed with fascinating discoveries and lively conversations that you won't want to miss!

Transcript

Phil: 0:05

Welcome to the Lempert Report LIVE. On today's broadcast, how Chile has changed healthy eating, Schlotzsky's spicy contest, should foods be banned at the checkout?, some great news about taurine, Aubrey Plaza's milk ad is under fire, and get ready for the 4th of July price report. On the bullseye, it's all about Costco. Let's get started.

Phil: 0:31

S ome good news. W e've talked before about Mexico, we've talked about Chile putting marketing restrictions in place on kids advertising, and it looks like it's really working. So in Chile, they have decreased kids exposure to unhealthy food advertising on TV by 73%, on general advertising by 64%. There's a full daytime ban across all TV, from 6am to 10pm, on these food ads that are targeted towards kids, and bottom line is their law of food labeling and advertising created warning labels on packages for unhealthy foods. They are ominous, black, scary signs and they ban their sale and promotion in schools. And it's probably the most ambitious framework in the world aimed at tackling rising nutrition related diseases and soaring healthcare costs. So it looks like it's working and maybe what we need is the FDA to take a look at what's going on in Chile and in Mexico and forget these healthy labels that we're spending millions and millions of dollars on that are going to be meaningless for people. Maybe we just need to do this.

Sally: 2:05

Yes, this is a very bold policy with great results.

Sally: 2:09

Chile has a 33% obesity rate, so they are dealing with much, you know, with obesity rates, like we are here in the US, and diet related illness.

Sally: 2:24

So, yes, it is a great program that they started. They started in 2016 by prohibiting the marketing to children, but they realized it wasn't enough, and so that was in 2018 when they added the daytime ban, from 6 am to 10 pm, and one of the things that is also coming out of the results of their efforts was they're finding that, since they have banned certain products from being sold in schools and distributed to kids, they're finding that the kids are actually now encouraging their parents to buy better food products for them. So that is one great thing that's come out of this, but they're also saying that we need to look at how we can do more, because there is so much exposure to children when it comes to marketing of sugary, high sodium foods and drinks. There's a lot of energy drinks being promoted in gaining platforms and on TikTok, so that's a whole other area that we will probably need to address as well.

Phil: 3:28

Absolutely, and you mentioned that their obesity is at 33%, our overweight and obesity here in the US is over 60%. So clearly we should take a clue from our southern neighbors here and be able to change things. So have you ever been to a Schlotzky's?

Sally: 3:49

I have, yes, I have.

Phil: 3:51

Okay, I have not, so I need your advice here. But what they're doing is they're offering $15K for the winners of a spicy hustle contest where a selected couple will try its new spicy food, create comprehensive spice profile reports, recommend flavor menu combinations and create content for social media. They just introduced their new line. It's a spicy line featuring hot sauce infused freshly baked sourdough bread. I don't know if I want hot sauce in my bread. Isn't that a little weird?

Sally: 4:40

Well, I'm not sure. I haven't tried it. I have had Schlotzsky's and you know I'm from Georgia and so they are a chain that has that's come out of the Atlanta area. They're very popular there. And I've also had Schlotzsky's out Schlotzsky's in California as well. So this is a really interesting If campaign. If they're investing $15,000 in giving to a couple who wins this challenge, just think about all of the couples that they'll get to enter that are committing to a month a month of trying their products and talking about their products on social media, creating content, taking photos, videos. That's how they win the competition by their social media content, trying all of their products. So it's kind of brilliant and a very small investment for a lot what could be a lot of advertising.

Phil: 5:39

Absolutely. You know, i think you hit it right on the nose. $15,000 to have hundreds or thousands of people doing this, it's brilliant. The contest applications are open till June 30th. Just go to . You have to reside within 25 miles of a Schlotzky's location and you have to be over 21. So check it out. Let us know what you think about the spicy bread. I still don't like that.

Phil: 6:12

So there's a new report out of the University of California at Davis that found that 70% of foods and beverages at the checkout in supermarkets are unhealthy. For snack size options, even a higher proportion were unhealthy, 89%. And there was a study published just this month in current developments in nutrition. Most food and beverage options at checkout consists of candy 31%, sugar sweetened beverages 11%, salty snacks 9%, and sweets 6%. I'm not sure of the difference between candy and sweets. And water only represented 3% of food and beverage options. And they looked at these. Researchers went to 102 food stores in Davis, Sacramento, Oakland and Berkeley, California.

Phil: 7:07

What's interesting about these stores? Berkeley, in February 2021, put into effect a law that required large food stores to offer more nutritious offerings at the checkout. They were the first city in the US to implement a healthy checkout policy. But to be honest with you, we've seen retailers before this have no candy checkout lanes. I know that Larry Wilson from Shoprite. He did it probably 20 years ago. I know that there's some Wegmans that do it, but the reality is that this study should be eye-opening to supermarkets. And yes, you make a lot of money selling M&Ms and Snickers bars and stuff like that, but at what cost?

Sally: 8:02

Yes, this is a very interesting study and it is really exciting that Berkeley is trying this, just so we can all see what the results of that are, how people respond to it. It has always been a frustration, i think, for parents that are checking out with children, that all of those unhealthy items are right there when you're in the middle of loading.

Phil: 8:27

Give me, give me, give me, give me.

Sally: 8:29

You're busy loading your groceries up on the belt and trying to get through and they're asking you at the same time, and so it's yes. Yes, you can have it. You can have it, but it is. It's complicated, and I think there are a lot of parents out there that would want to shop at a grocery store where they don't have that, so they don't have to deal with it. The candy is a choice. It's there in the store, it's in the candy aisle, but if it's not right there at the checkout, then that alleviates a lot of pressure on people and also just temptation. Sometimes you go to the grocery store really hungry and you over buy and then you're standing in the checkout line and you're like, "yeah, i'll eat a king-size Snickers.

Phil: 9:14

And also let's not forget that at the checkout line, especially if you have somebody in front of you, you're just standing there so you can read weekly world news, or you can pick up some candy either one you know and find out what Martians are or attacking us these days.

Phil: 9:37

So energy drinks have come under a lot of criticism, but there's a new report out that talks about. It was just reported in Science Magazine that taurine, which is an amino acid that's found in meat and shellfish and it's a supplement that's added to a lot of energy drinks. Now it suggests that the nutrient may help with healthy aging. It slows down the process leading to longer, healthier lives in animals. They haven't done any human tests yet, but what they found is supplementing middle-aged animals led to better health. So maybe taurine, which has come under so much criticism, isn't that bad for us.

Sally: 10:25

Yes, this is very exciting research. Any research that teaches us how we can stay younger and healthier longer. We all love to hear that. Now, while this research doesn't show that we can reverse aging with this amino acid, it does show that it can help slow down the process and keep you healthier as you are aging. It is found in some foods such as scallops and tuna. It's found in beef, tilapia, octopus, turkey. You can get it from chicken and seaweed. There's not a lot of plant-based foods that you can find that get this amino acid from, so that becomes harder for vegetarians and vegans, unless you really love seaweed. And we do see a lot of energy drinks that have this supplement, but the problem with energy drinks is that they also usually come with a lot of sugar, so you've got to think about.

Phil: 11:27

And caffeine, And caffeine.

Sally: 11:29

Yes, so maybe choosing the zero sugar red bull is a better choice, or the ones that have this amino acid but don't have as much sugar or caffeine.

Phil: 11:42

Or just get it naturally from all the foods that you just described, especially from from seafood. One of my favorite actresses these days is Aubrey Plaza. You know she's been around for a while in Parks and Recreation and she did this great movie, Emily the criminal. I thought she was brilliant in it, but so and she's now done an ad for milk pep.

Phil: 12:15

Those are the people who generated the got milk campaign and it's interesting because it's very controversial. She basically talks about the fact that she's putting down plant-based milks, talking about the fact that they're calling it the Wood Milk campaign. If you haven't seen the commercial, folks Check it out on YouTube. I think it's still there.

Phil: 12:44

Basically, she sits in a forest and talks about how all these plant-based milks are coming from wood. That's not necessarily true, but it's a tongue-in-cheek commercial. But people are up in arms and they're saying that the Check-off program for milk should not be paying for this because it disparages other foods. It's the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Who is is really taking the lead on this. I know a lot of other celebrities have come up against her. What do you think? She has said "have you ever looked at a tree and thought can I drink this? Those are her words. And then she Goes on to say that the fictitious wood milk is bottled right here in the forest, where the trees hit the dirt Which locks in the flavors like cherry, maple and, of course, mahogany. And if you can't pick your favorite, that's okay, because they all taste like wood.

Sally: 13:51

She is a very funny actress and it is satire and it very, very much reminds me when we've talked about the Portlandia skits before that you know that make fun of the foodies and late the labeling of.

Sally: 14:09

You know some of the ways the labeling has gotten out of hand, but the the plant-based milk people are really upset because they feel like it's very disparaging and that i t's false information and that you know people won't want to buy their products if they think that there's no nutritional value to them. And whether or not they're going to win in this case, they're asking for corrective advertising, i think, which is a very difficult thing to to win, but whether or not they will, i don't know. I think it is really important, though, for both sides, for the dairy industry and the plant-based milk Industry, to make sure that they are communicating in a very responsible way what the different nutritional values of our, of their products, what dairy offers you, and what some of our plant-based milks can offer as well. Otherwise, people might walk away a little confused, absolutely, and and to be honest with you, I am.

Phil: 15:08

Being the grandson of a dairy farmer, i was not in In play on this. You know, whether it's soy milk or almond milk and so on, should be able to use the word milk, because milk does have a standard of identity of coming from an animal, whether it's a cow or whether it's a goat, matter of fact. So you know, i'm really torn because, I like the commercial. I think it's tongue-in-cheek, but again, I think it's a very important thing to do. I think it's a very important thing to do. I think it's tongue-in-cheek, but again, it highlights the fact that I think FDA and USDA made a big mistake allowing these other products to be called milk. And yes, IFIC had done a study and they've shown that less than 10 percent of people really think that. You know they're confused between soy milk and almond milk and cow's milk, but I still think that they shouldn't have done that. I think that's a mistake.

Phil: 16:09

Let's talk about 4th of July. It's coming up and there's some new reports that talk about prices as it relates to 4th of July. So get your pen and paper ready, Sally, because here's what you should buy and here's what you shouldn't buy. So sirloin steak is down half of a percent. Last year was up 14 percent. Now this comes from Wells Fargo, ground beef is down 3%. Last year was up 14 percent. Wine is down 2%. Process cheese is up 15 percent. I don't understand that because most of what's in process cheese is, you know, oil and water. Bread is up 23 percent. Ice cream is up 16 percent. Chocolate chip cookies are up 24 percent. The list goes on and on.

Phil: 17:02

Walmart has also entered the fray and what they've done is they have grill essential rollbacks that are starting right now. They have over 20 grilling classics at prices that are lower than last year. Some of the best buys Kingsford original charcoal briquettes It was $19. 92, $19.92 last year, this year at $17.92. But the big one, if you're looking for a grill, is The Blackstone two burner 28 inch griddle with air fryer combo. I didn't know there was an air fryer combo on a grill, it was $497, now it's $447. And just this morning we got a report from the e-commerce accelerator pattern and grill accessories are down 7%.

Phil: 17:57

Inflatable pools are down 7%. Barbecue sauce down 4%. Hot dogs down 3%. Now here's the prices that have gone up. Mountain Dew, that glow in the dark soda is up 22%. Pepsi is up 12%, Sprite up 11%, Dr Pepper up 9%, 7- up is up 8%, tequila up 5%, Coca-Cola only up 1%, which I find hard to believe after all the price increases that Coke has taken. And beer is up just 1%. So what are you gonna get for your Fourth of July barbecue?

Sally: 18:40

Well, it sounds like I'm gonna grill some sirloin steak to make some tacos or some fajitas maybe, because I don't want to get the bread. The bread is up, so I don't want to make burgers or anything that involves, so I'm gonna make tacos with sirloin steak and we're gonna have Coca-Cola and Wine, I believe, not margaritas, since Tequila is up. Sorry about that, Phil, I know you love tequila, but it does sound, all in all, that people are getting a little bit of a break on prices across the board and maybe this Fourth of July is a little bit easier for them to indulge in some celebration than it was last year.

Phil: 19:21

Absolutely. Well thanks, Sally, on Lost in the Supermarket. I spoke with Amy Fox, the founder of the Food and Mood Lab, about how our food choices affect our performance. Here's what she had to say, and this is just a little excerpt. You want to go to the website SupermarketG uru. com to hear the entire Interview. She has a lot of great things to say. Take it away, Amy. If there's one thing that you would like every listener to do when it comes to making good food choices to help their moods, what would it be?

Amy: 20:00

Am I only limited to one? No, you have two. I can have two.

Sally: 20:04

Um, you know, I think one of the things that I would consider especially about how you feel.

Amy: 20:08

I think the two that I would pick, I would pick. let's stick with the alcohol thing. So you might be a person I'm saying you generally as your listener that maybe as an occasional glass of wine or beer or I would just I'd experiment with limiting and reducing your consumption and just see what happens. I just know I know a lot of people I coach a lot of people and who want to have some weight loss or just want to feel better and before we do any sort of planning we look at lifestyle habits and nine times out of ten, even just the reduction of wine or alcohol, they start to feel amazing. They literally feel joy and I mean beyond just the weight dropping and sleeping better. They are more engaged with their family. We have more energy and I've done nothing but help to encourage them to just try, like, take a 10 calorie athletic brewing beer and put that in your smoothie. Just see one night and they start to get hooked on that.

Phil: 21:21

On today's bullseye we take a look at Costco's latest treat, a mango smoothie that has come under severe criticism. This smoothie puts aside their berry smoothie and lots of Costco customers are upset. Laura and Rachel are two sisters who run the YouTube, tiktok and Facebook channel Costco Hot Finds. They pronounce the mango smoothie as "huge and delicious and good for Costco. It only costs $2.99. Most smoothies this size will set you back between $5 and $7.

Phil: 21:56

Laura and Rachel's followers all don't agree with their review, though. Some say that the color is unappetizing, others say that it tastes sour. Yet others say that it tastes and its texture reminds them of baby food. The Costco smoothie doesn't have any sugars added, which is a good thing, but I must wonder if the Costco customer is a mango customer. The smoothie is made from mango puree and, for those who know mangoes, depending on the ripeness and time of the year, mangoes can be a bit sour, which is why most mango products add sugars to balance the taste. One follower applauded the smoothie and said "we love it. It's super clean ingredients. So this allergen mama is happy.

Phil: 22:39

Until we can cleanse the American palate of sugar, salt and fat, there always will be a controversy over what real food tastes like. Costco made the right move, and we only wish more retailers would follow their lead and offer foods and beverages that are as close to nature as possible, without adding all that other stuff. The Lempert Report is all about inspiring ideas, making our industry think and challenging one another. Let's think about being the shopper and how we can bring our supermarkets and our restaurants closer to meet their needs. I hope you'll come back and join us on next week's installment of the Lempert Report LIVE when we focus on the biggest and the best insights and the things that really matter to consumers and to retailers. Visit us at SupermarketGuru. com for the latest marketing analysis, issues and trends, and we'll see you back here next Monday at 2.30 pm Eastern for a lot more.