Tackling the diabetes crisis with innovative retail technology

By Akeel Hussain, Founder, Healthy For You

Diabetes is an urgent worldwide public health crisis. Without intervention, there are projected to be over 400 million diabetics by 2030, producing $2.5 trillion in healthcare costs.

The single greatest risk factor for type 2 diabetes is obesity, with a quantitative study finding a 9% increase in prevalence for every 1kg increase in weight.

The diabetes crisis will then clearly be further exacerbated by the ever developing obesity epidemic, which is expected to see 41% of the world population overweight or obese in less than ten years (according to a report from McKinsey and Company).

RTIH gets the lowdown on Healthy For You, a startup whose scan and go technology enables diabetics to make informed nutritional choices at the point of purchase #retailtech #startups #diabetes #diabetesawareness https://t.co/7UZJGkFluu
— Retail Technology Innovation Hub (@RTIH_RetailTech) April 28, 2021

There is therefore a critical need for solutions that address both public health threats, and it has been suggested that this can most effectively be achieved through lifestyle interventions in diet and exercise.

There is a growing childhood obesity and diabetes problem. This group has better access to technology so this is an area where digital apps may have the strongest effect.

Despite this, diabetics report understanding and implementing dietary changes as the most challenging aspect of the condition, and this is reflected in several studies which have found low adherence to dietary recommendations amongst diabetics.

A survey by Diabetes UK highlighted an unmet need for dietary advice both at diagnosis and during follow-up, confusing and contradictory information and poor access to healthcare professionals as key challenges to healthy eating.

Other studies have identified deficits in knowledge, health literacy and language as barriers to effective diabetes education, prevention and management.

Clinicians have cited time constraints and increasing workload as limitations to comprehensive individual dietary assessments and counselling.

Market

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for telehealth consultations and self-care apps.

As a result, the global mHealth market is projected to grow to $213.6 billion at a CAGR of 33.3% during the forecast period 2020-2025.

The adoption of technology will continue beyond the pandemic and this will continue to support further market growth in the telehealth area.

The pledge by the Department of Health to offer digital GP consultations to all patients in England by 2023/34 and the growing availability of digitally enabled self-management tools on the NHS app reflects this digital transformation.

The Research to Guidance report has identified diabetes as the most promising therapeutic area for digital health innovations to take place.

Changes in the healthcare landscape are also being seen in the food sector with an industry survey conducted for FMI’s The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2018, citing consumers focus on health and wellness (81%) and leveraging food to manage and avoid health issues (72%) as the top two opportunities that could positively impact sales and profits.

Our solution unlike our competitors is designed for supermarkets and this survey indicates increasing openness to such solutions.

This changing consumerism will restrict retailers that fail to embrace these changes and rely on characteristics such as cost, taste and convenience.

Furthermore, aggressive government policy demonstrated in the sugar and carbonated drinks tax are to be followed with further legislation as proposed in the 2022 reforms relating to multipack purchases and product placement.

This is not the right approach but supermarkets have made little reform leaving the government with little choice. The NHS long-term plan outlines themes such as community-based care, holistic care, data interoperability and prevention and supermarkets will be integral in this.

Competitors and solution

The current diabetic mhealth market consists of many similar apps which allow patients to record their blood sugar levels, insulin units and dietary intake.

Recording of dietary intake in this way is time-consuming and repetitive which leads to disengagement and high levels of under-reporting.

Healthy For You facilitates the instant purchase of recommended products in online and in-store, adopting a quick and simple barcode scan technology that uses your smartphone camera.

Unlike other apps, this approach enables us to actively influence purchases and promote behavioural modification and this is achieved by directing patients towards recommended products (green) and highlighting unsuitable products (red.)

This approach provides conveniency and circumvents some of the barriers to healthy eating discussed earlier such as deficits in patient knowledge, time-constraints and literacy levels.

This provides an opportunity for retailers to lead the way in the fight against diabetes, transforming supermarket shopping into an experience. This will increase customer engagement, traffic, loyalty and revenue.

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