scholarly journals Store-directed price promotions and communications strategies improve healthier food supply and demand: impact results from a randomized controlled, Baltimore City store-intervention trial

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 3349-3359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Budd ◽  
Jayne K Jeffries ◽  
Jessica Jones-Smith ◽  
Anna Kharmats ◽  
Ann Yelmokas McDermott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychosocial Factors ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Price Promotions ◽  
Baltimore City ◽  
Price Discounts ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Communications Strategies

AbstractObjectiveSmall food store interventions show promise to increase healthy food access in under-resourced areas. However, none have tested the impact of price discounts on healthy food supply and demand. We tested the impact of store-directed price discounts and communications strategies, separately and combined, on the stocking, sales and prices of healthier foods and on storeowner psychosocial factors.DesignFactorial design randomized controlled trial.SettingTwenty-four corner stores in low-income neighbourhoods of Baltimore City, MD, USA.SubjectsStores were randomized to pricing intervention, communications intervention, combined pricing and communications intervention, or control. Stores that received the pricing intervention were given a 10–30 % price discount by wholesalers on selected healthier food items during the 6-month trial. Communications stores received visual and interactive materials to promote healthy items, including signage, taste tests and refrigerators.ResultsAll interventions showed significantly increased stock of promoted foodsv. control. There was a significant treatment effect for daily unit sales of healthy snacks (β=6·4, 95 % CI 0·9, 11·9) and prices of healthy staple foods (β=–0·49, 95 % CI –0·90, –0·03) for the combined groupv. control, but not for other intervention groups. There were no significant intervention effects on storeowner psychosocial factors.ConclusionsAll interventions led to increased stock of healthier foods. The combined intervention was effective in increasing sales of healthier snacks, even though discounts on snacks were not passed to the consumer. Experimental research in small stores is needed to understand the mechanisms by which store-directed price promotions can increase healthy food supply and demand.

scholarly journals Achieving equitable uptake of handwashing and sanitation by addressing both supply and demand-based constraints: findings from a randomized controlled trial in rural Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarker Masud Parvez ◽  
Musarrat Jabeen Rahman ◽  
Rashidul Azad ◽  
Mahbubur Rahman ◽  
Leanne Unicomb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Efficacy Trial ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Change Promotion ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Supply driven programs that are not closely connected to community demand and demand-driven programs that fail to ensure supply both risk worsening inequity. Understanding patterns of uptake of behaviors among the poorest under ideal experimental conditions, such as those of an efficacy trial, can help identify strategies that could be strengthened in routine programmatic conditions for more equitable uptake. WASH Benefits Bangladesh was a randomized controlled efficacy trial that provided free-of cost WASH hardware along with behavior change promotion. The current paper aimed to determine the impact of the removal of supply and demand constraints on the uptake of handwashing and sanitation behaviors across wealth and education levels. Methods The current analysis selected 4 indicators from the WASH Benefits trial— presence of water and soap in household handwashing stations, observed mother’s hand cleanliness, observed visible feces on latrine slab or floor and reported last child defecation in potty or toilet. A baseline assessment was conducted immediately after enrolment and endline assessment was conducted approximately 2 years later. We compared change in uptake of these indicators including wealth quintiles (Q) between intervention and control groups from baseline to endline. Results For hand cleanliness, the poorest mothers improved more [Q1 difference in difference, DID: 16% (7, 25%)] than the wealthiest mothers [Q5 DID: 7% (− 4, 17%)]. The poorest households had largest improvements for observed presence of water and soap in handwashing station [Q1 DID: 82% (75, 90%)] compared to the wealthiest households [Q5 DID: 39% (30, 50%)]. Similarly, poorer household demonstrated greater reductions in visible feces on latrine slab or floor [Q1DID, − 25% (− 35, − 15) Q2: − 34% (− 44, − 23%)] than the wealthiest household [Q5 DID: − 1% (− 11, 8%). For reported last child defecation in potty or toilet, the poorest mothers showed greater improvement [Q1–4 DID: 50–54% (44, 60%)] than the wealthier mothers [Q5 DID: 39% (31, 46%). Conclusion By simultaneously addressing supply and demand-constraints among the poorest, we observed substantial overall improvements in equity. Within scaled-up programs, a separate targeted strategy that relaxes constraints for the poorest can improve the equity of a program. Trial registration WASH Benefits Bangladesh: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT01590095. Date of registration: April 30, 2012 ‘Retrospectively registered’.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on Rural Food Supply and Demand in Australia: Utilising Group Model Building to Identify Retailer and Customer Perspectives

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 417
Author(s):  
Jillian Whelan ◽  
Andrew Dwight Brown ◽  
Lee Coller ◽  
Claudia Strugnell ◽  
Steven Allender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Group Model ◽  
Group Model Building ◽  
Food Purchases ◽  
Australian Community ◽  
Purchasing Behaviour ◽  
The Impact

Prior to the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19, 70% of Australians’ food purchases were from supermarkets. Rural communities experience challenges accessing healthy food, which drives health inequalities. This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on food supply and purchasing behaviour in a rural supermarket. Group model building workshops explored food supply experiences during COVID-19 in a rural Australian community with one supermarket. We asked three supermarket retailers “What are the current drivers of food supply into this supermarket environment?” and, separately, 33 customers: “What are the current drivers of purchases in this supermarket environment?” Causal loop diagrams were co-created with participants in real time with themes drawn afterwards from coded transcripts. Retailers’ experience of COVID-19 included ‘empty shelves’ attributed to media and government messaging, product unavailability, and community fear. Customers reported fear of contracting COVID-19, unavailability of food, and government restrictions resulting in cooking more meals at home, as influences on purchasing behaviour. Supermarket management and customers demonstrated adaptability and resilience to normalise demand and combat reduced supply.

scholarly journals Logistics network configuration for seasonal perishable food supply chains

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Javier Arturo Orjuela-Castro ◽  
Juan Pablo Orejuela-Cabrera ◽  
Wilson Adarme-Jaimes
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Network Design ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Food Supply Chain ◽  
Product Model ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Logistics Network ◽  
Food Supply Chains ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: The location of actors and production, transformation, commercialization and distribution facilities generate the configuration of the perishable food supply chain (PFSC). The logistics network design (LND) lead to different supply, storage and distribution environments and result in flows, these logistics operations have an impact on the performance of the chain of fresh agricultural products. Specifically, in the PFSC with seasonality, a temporary imbalance between supply and demand is generated, which affects the balance in the flows and affects the losses, costs and response capacity. This research study that problem.Design/methodology/approach: A multi-echelon, multi-objective and multi-product model is established that determines the configuration of the logistics network of the PFSC with seasonally and allows actors to approach efficiency frontiers, which contribute to their permanence in the markets. The model was applied to the case of the perishable fruit supply chain, in a developing country, Colombia. The population information was taken from government surveys and studies, which allowed parameterizing the model.Findings: The application of model permitted to answer the next questions: How does improve the performance from PFSC through logistics network design? And, How the existence of smallholdings in food production and from retail merchants is preserved? In the perishable food supply chain.Social implications: Where the perishable food supply chain actors are located in non-efficient borders and their sustainability may be affected by competition factors, the stakeholders should focus on increasing food availability and reducing losses to improve access and therefore food security.Originality/value: A new model for the logistics network configurations of seasonal perishable fruit supply chain was development, the optimizing from five objectives with two sub-models is obtained, one for surplus and the other for the deficit moments. The model includes real conditions, such as, fruit loss due T0 and RH by different thermal floors and the means used for the transport of fruits in mountain areas at countries in route of development. The impact over the small producers, retailers and consumers in the times of scarcity or surplus was analyzed.

scholarly journals Follow the Money: A Closer Look at US Tobacco Industry Marketing Expenditures

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T Levy ◽  
Alex Liber ◽  
Chris Cadham ◽  
Luz Maria Sanchez ◽  
Andrew Hyland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smokeless Tobacco ◽  
Tobacco Industry ◽  
Purchase Price ◽  
Price Promotions ◽  
Federal Policies ◽  
Price Discounts ◽  
Excise Taxes ◽  
Settlement Agreement ◽  
Marketing Expenditures ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: While much of the concern with tobacco industry marketing has focused on direct media advertising, a less explored form of marketing strategy is to discount prices. Price discounting is important because it keeps the purchase price low and can undermine the impact of tax increases. Methods: We examine annual marketing expenditures from 1975 to 2019 by the largest cigarette and smokeless tobacco companies. We consider three categories: direct advertising, promotional allowances, and price discounting. In addition to considering trends in these expenditures, we examine how price discounting expenditures relate to changes in product prices and excise taxes. Results: US direct advertising expenditures for cigarettes fell from 80% of total industry marketing expenditures in 1975 to less than 3% in 2019, while falling from 39% in 1985 to 6% in 2019 for smokeless tobacco. Price-discounting expenditures for cigarettes became prominent after the Master Settlement Agreement and related tax increases in 2002. By 2019, 87% of cigarette marketing expenditures were for price discounts and 7% for promotional allowances. Smokeless marketing expenditures were similar: 72% for price promotions and 13% for promotional allowances. Price discounting increased with prices and taxes until reaching their currently high levels. Conclusions: While much attention focuses on direct advertising, other marketing practices, especially price discounting, has received less attention. Local, state and federal policies that use non-tax mechanisms to increase tobacco prices and restrict industry contracts with retailers are needed to offset/disrupt industry marketing expenditures. Further study is needed to better understand industry decisions about marketing expenditures.

scholarly journals One-Year Follow-Up Examination of the Impact of the North Carolina Healthy Food Small Retailer Program on Healthy Food Availability, Purchases, and Consumption

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Jilcott Pitts ◽  
Qiang Wu ◽  
Kimberly Truesdale ◽  
Lindsey Haynes-Maslow ◽  
Jared McGuirt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
The North ◽  
Healthy Food Availability ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact

We examined the short-term impact of the North Carolina Healthy Food Small Retailer Program (HFSRP), a legislatively appropriated bill providing funding up to $25,000 to small food retailers for equipment to stock and promote healthier foods, on store-level availability and purchase of healthy foods and beverages, as well as customer dietary patterns, one year post-policy implementation. We evaluated healthy food availability using a validated audit tool, purchases using customer bag-checks, and diet using self-reported questionnaires and skin carotenoid levels, assessed via Veggie Meter™, a non-invasive tool to objectively measure fruit and vegetable consumption. Difference-in-difference analyses were used to examine changes in HFSRP stores versus control stores after 1 year. There were statistically significant improvements in healthy food supply scores (availability), with the Healthy Food Supply HFS score being −0.44 points lower in control stores and 3.13 points higher in HFSRP stores pre/post HFSRP (p = 0.04). However, there were no statistically significant changes in purchases or self-reported consumption or skin carotenoids among customers in HFSRP versus control stores. Additional time or other supports for retailers (e.g., marketing and promotional materials) may be needed for HFSRP implementation to influence purchase and consumption.

scholarly journals Achieving Equitable Uptake of Handwashing and Sanitation by Addressing Both Supply and Demand-based Constraints: Findings From a Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural Bangladesh 

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarker Masud Parvez ◽  
Musarrat Jabeen Rahman ◽  
Rashidul Azad ◽  
Mahbubur Rahman ◽  
Leanne Unicomb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Efficacy Trial ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Change Promotion ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Supply driven programs that are not closely connected to community demand and demand-driven programs that fail to ensure supply both risk worsening inequity. Understanding patterns of uptake of behaviors among the poorest under ideal experimental conditions, such as those of an efficacy trial, can help identify strategies that could be strengthened in routine programmatic conditions for more equitable uptake. WASH Benefits Bangladesh was a randomized controlled efficacy trial that provided free-of cost WASH hardware along with behavior change promotion. The current paper aimed to determine the impact of the removal of supply and demand constraints on the uptake of handwashing and sanitation behaviors across wealth and education levels.Methods: The current analysis selected 4 indicators from the WASH Benefits trial— presence of water and soap in household handwashing stations, observed mother’s hand cleanliness, observed visible feces on latrine slab or floor and reported last child defecation in potty or toilet. A baseline assessment was conducted immediately after enrolment and endline assessment was conducted approximately 2 years later. We compared change in uptake of these indicators including wealth quintiles (Q) between intervention and control groups from baseline to endline.Results: For hand cleanliness, the poorest mothers improved more (Q1 difference in difference, DID: 16%) than the wealthiest mothers (Q5 DID: 7%). The poorest households had largest improvements for observed presence of water and soap in handwashing station (Q1 DID: 82%) compared to the wealthiest households (Q5 DID: 39%). Similarly, poorer household demonstrated greater reductions in visible feces on latrine slab or floor (Q1DID, -25% Q2: -34%) than the wealthiest household (Q5 DID: -1%). For reported last child defecation in potty or toilet, the poorest mothers showed greater improvement (Q1-4 DID: 50-54%) than the wealthier mothers (Q5 DID: 39%). Conclusion: By simultaneously addressing supply and demand-constraints among the poorest, we observed substantial overall improvements in equity. Within scaled-up programs, a separate targeted strategy that relaxes constraints for the poorest can improve the equity of a program. Trial registration: WASH Benefits Bangladesh: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT01590095. Date of registration: April 30, 2012 ‘Retrospectively registered’URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01590095

scholarly journals Achieving equitable uptake of handwashing and sanitation by addressing both supply and demand-based constraints: Findings from a randomized controlled trial in rural Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarker Masud Parvez ◽  
Musarrat Jabeen Rahman ◽  
Rashidul Azad ◽  
Mahbubur Rahman ◽  
Leanne Unicomb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Efficacy Trial ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Change Promotion ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Supply driven programs that are not closely connected to community demand and demand-driven programs that fail to ensure supply both risk worsening inequity. Understanding patterns of uptake of behaviors among the poorest under ideal experimental conditions, such as those of an efficacy trial, can help identify strategies that could be strengthened in routine programmatic conditions for more equitable uptake. WASH Benefits Bangladesh was a randomized controlled efficacy trial that provided free-of cost WASH hardware along with behavior change promotion. The current paper aimed to determine the impact of the removal of supply and demand constraints on the uptake of handwashing and sanitation behaviors across wealth and education levels.Methods: The current analysis selected 4 indicators from the WASH Benefits trial— presence of water and soap in household handwashing stations, observed mother’s hand cleanliness, observed visible feces on latrine slab or floor and reported last child defecation in potty or toilet. A baseline assessment was conducted immediately after enrolment and endline assessment was conducted approximately 2 years later. We compared change in uptake of these indicators including wealth quintiles (Q) between intervention and control groups from baseline to endline.Results: For hand cleanliness, the poorest mothers improved more [Q1 difference in difference, DID: 16% (7, 25%)] than the wealthiest mothers [Q5 DID: 7% (-4, 17%)]. The poorest households had largest improvements for observed presence of water and soap in handwashing station [Q1 DID: 82% (75, 90%)] compared to the wealthiest households [Q5 DID: 39% (30, 50%)]. Similarly, poorer household demonstrated greater reductions in visible feces on latrine slab or floor [Q1DID, -25% (-35, -15) Q2: -34% (-44, -23%)] than the wealthiest household [Q5 DID: -1% (-11, 8%). For reported last child defecation in potty or toilet, the poorest mothers showed greater improvement [Q1-4 DID: 50-54% (44, 60%)] than the wealthier mothers [Q5 DID: 39% (31, 46%). Conclusion: By simultaneously addressing supply and demand-constraints among the poorest, we observed substantial overall improvements in equity. Within scaled-up programs, a separate targeted strategy that relaxes constraints for the poorest can improve the equity of a program. Trial registration: WASH Benefits Bangladesh: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT01590095. Date of registration: April 30, 2012 ‘Retrospectively registered’URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01590095

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