Grocery Manufacturers Association Takes Nutrition Initiative Online

Getting a quick glance at the products you buy in the grocery store hasn’t always been easy, but an industry initiative has gone a long way to make things easier.

Now that initiative has a website to match.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), which helped launch the Facts Up Front nutrition reporting initiative in 2011 with the Food Marketing Institute, is now taking the program a step further with the help of a new website  (opens in a new tab) that helps parents and others better understand what they’re consuming.

“Facts Up Front empowers consumers to make informed choices. It arms them with critical nutrition information about their favorite products,” Pamela Bailey, the group’s president and CEO, said in a press release  (opens in a new tab). “But to make the most of Facts Up Front, Americans need to understand what that information means, and how it relates to their calorie and nutrient needs. Through this website, we are providing consumers with the knowledge and tools they need to build a healthful diet.”

The site features a number of tools, including infographics, recipes, and embeddable tools, that allow you to calculate your nutrition needs, take quizzes, and understand how the label works. (A sample of the label is shown above.)

One of the most interesting things about GMA’s effort is that they didn’t settle on a desktop site. Efforts to reach different types of consumers, including mobile users and Spanish speakers  (opens in a new tab), also got consideration. All three versions of the site launched at the same time.

GMA’s labeling initiatives are picking up steam among consumers and food producers, with some product categories reporting nearly 90 percent of items using the initiative in some product categories, according to Food Navigator  (opens in a new tab). Big brands such as Hershey’s  (opens in a new tab) have embraced the trend, for good reason: According to a recent study noted by Popular Science  (opens in a new tab), such packaging initiatives do have an effect on consumer buying habits.

How can you use web platforms to better explain your industry initiatives to the public? Let us know your suggestions in the comments below.

(Factsupfront.org screenshot)