VitalityIP and Schnuck Markets plug into agentic commerce with personalised shopping assistant
VitalityIP and Schnuck Markets are teaming up to launch an AI powered, agentic shopping assistant that will deliver nutrition guidance, meal ideas and product recommendations.
“Our customers are telling us they want trusted guidance with a number of aspects on their visits to Schnucks, whether they’re meal planning, tracking health goals, balancing special dietary needs, stretching their budget, or looking for inspiration in the kitchen,” says Tom Henry, Schnucks Chief Data and Information Officer. “Together with VitalityIP, we're creating a shopping experience that's not only enjoyable but also more personal, more helpful and more rewarding.”
Arriving in the grocer’s Schnucks Rewards app and website at schnucks.comin late summer, the agent will tap into more than six billion lines of shopping, health and nutrition data. The platform will help customers make everyday food choices that support health and lifestyle initiatives such as weight management, healthy aging, recovery and family wellness.
“Today, nearly 90% of Americans suffer from a food related condition that VitalityIP and retail grocers can impact,” says Sarah Hoit, Co-Founder and CEO at VitalityIP. “Food is medicine, but until now, personalised nutrition options haven’t been available where people make food decisions every day. Schnucks recognised an opportunity to transform grocery shopping into a powerful experience that can actually help customers optimise their lives. Together we've made the latest food and nutrition science practical, personal and accessible for every shopper."
The new technology powering this roll-out was co-developed by VitalityIP and Schnucks using real customer journeys and actual store inventory. Schnucks maintains ownership of the customer relationship, shopper data and brand experience while leveraging VitalityIP's AI and its proprietary database, which bridges medical grade health insights and ingredient level product data.
“Retailers need smart solutions that scale to meet the personalised needs of the modern shopper. By partnering with VitalityIP, Schnucks will offer our customers an advanced agentic commerce platform fueled by critical food, health, nutrition, product and transaction data,” Henry says. “This agent won’t just be a search bar - it will be a personalised digital shopping assistant that understands Schnucks aisles, sales, promotions and customers' lifestyles and can help shoppers plan meals, discover savings, organise parties, and pair food and wine just to name a few uses.”
While Schnucks will be the first to debut the VitalityIP platform, it was co-designed for white label integration by US retailers. Beyond retail, health systems, employers and wearable technology companies can also embed the platform into their digital experiences.
“We partnered with one of the most innovative, forward thinking and tech savvy retail grocers to launch our VitalityIP engine,” says Michael Connor, Co-Founder and CTO at VitalityIP. “Not only is Schnucks bringing smarter shopping and healthier living tools to its customers - together, we are pioneering an industry movement and inviting other retailers to join us. Our new platform proves that when you bring validated science directly into the aisles of your local grocery store, you transform how the world eats, shops, and lives.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
