To grocers, RDs add value to the market

Bethesda, Maryland-based Sutton Place Gourmet, a 14-store chain of upscale grocery stores, targets time-pressed consumers, particularly working women who still do most of the shopping but need meal-planning advice more than ever. Supermarket nutritionists - registered dietitians by trade with an average of 3 years of undergraduate training - are producing newsletters and direct-mail pieces, in-store signs, addressing food health emergencies and running store tours and recipe demonstrations in tandem with the marketing staff.