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August 10, 2010
By David Keene
We reported last month that Digital signage for Restaurants
is a huge topic. And with new legislation and contentious issues surrounding
“fast food”, and the need to publish nutritional and calorie information on
menu boards, big challenges and big opportunities are on the horizon. This
news, from the big National School Nutrition Association SNA Exhibition in
Dallas last month, but just released today, is interesting, especially with its
reference to research at San Jose State University, who conducted a pilot study
of a Point-of-Purchase (POP) program and its influence on the purchasing
behaviors of a multi-ethnic college population shopping at an on-campus
convenience store.
This is a topic to watch.
This is the news Item:
K-12 Digital Menu
Boards with Nutritional Labeling - Simple and Effective way to fight Childhood
Obesity
WOODLAND HILLS, CA, August 10, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ --
Green Edge Systems, a leader in technology solutions for
K-12 school food services presented the Epicure Digital K-12 Menu Board System
with Nutritional Labeling at the ANC-2010 National School Nutrition Association
SNA Exhibition in Dallas.
The Epicure Digital Menu Boards on display became a focal point of interest at
the show. Two large LCD screens featured the many ways to present nutritional
information, ranging from nutritional icons describing healthy heart items and
food and nutritional groups, to detailing every menu item’s portion size,
number of calories, grams of fat, cholesterol, sodium, etc.
Digital menu boards with nutritional menu labeling were identified as one of
the simplest and most effective ways to fight Childhood Obesity, with immediate
proven results. They communicate with students while in line in the cafeteria,
just when they are selecting their food, at the point of service,. Digital menu
boards are at the battlefront, ready to combat childhood obesity and educate
students to make healthier food choices.
A study published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association shed light on behaviors regarding food choices and good nutrition
and report on how nutritional labeling and point-of-purchase signs are
influencing healthy food choices .
http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223%2810%2900522-5/abstract
Researchers from San Jose State University conducted a pilot study of a
Point-of-Purchase (POP) program and its influence on the purchasing behaviors
of a multi-ethnic college population shopping at an on-campus convenience
store. This 11-week study collected baseline sales data for six weeks during
the middle of the Fall 2008 semester. After students returned from Winter
break, “Eat Smart” program materials featuring the “Fuel Your Life” logo were
placed in the on-campus convenience store. Sales data were collected during the
middle of the Spring 2009 semester for five weeks, ending just before students
left for Spring break.
Healthful items in seven food categories (cereal, bread, soup, cracker, canned
vegetable, granola/energy bar, and salad dressing) were tagged throughout the
market. There was no difference in price between the tagged and untagged items.
While no significant difference in sales of any particular food item was
observed between baseline and intervention, overall sales of tagged items, as a
percentage of total sales in the cereal, soup, and cracker categories,
increased as a result of the intervention, while sales of tagged bread items
decreased. Though not statistically significant, the intervention resulted in a
3.6% increase in the percentage of sales from tagged items.
“This research indicates that a simple logo helped students identify healthful
food choices, and positively influenced food choice,” said researcher Marjorie
R. Freedman. “It would be interesting to determine if a combination of
point-of-purchase nutrition information, coupled with economic incentives
(e.g., lower prices for healthier foods) would further drive consumers to
choose these healthier food items. We must aggressively test such options in
light of the increasing threat of obesity to the health of our society.”
Epicure Digital is leading the digital menu board market by uniquely
integrating its expertise in software technology, restaurant operations and
food service marketing to create digital signage solutions for the food service
industry.
A digital menu board by Epicure Digital is much more then a digital version of
a conventional menu board. Epicure Digital designs customized digital menu
boards that solve their client’s complex menu engineering and point-of-sale
marketing issues. By creatively combining information, motion, imagery and food
photography, they produce visually compelling multimedia menus and promotions
to help sell menu items and enhance the dining experience. Epicure Digital
calls this “the cure for the menu bored™.
Epicure Digital menu boards can also be presented online in a school’s website,
allowing parents to view in real time the food choices and advice that their
kids get when making their daily food selection, and involve them in the
educational and selection process.
Epicure Digital works with each school to develop a nutritional labeling
program to best meet their student’s needs. Nutritional menu labeling by
Epicure Digital informs students to make healthier meal choices by displaying
nutritional data and icons next to menu items on multimedia digital menu boards
designed for K-12 students.
Digital menu boards in K-12 are not only expected to lead the fight against
childhood obesity, but also increase significantly the participation in school
lunch and breakfast programs.
Epicure Digital pioneered the display of nutritional information on digital
menu boards in 2003 for the U.S. Navy. Since then they have developed many ways
to present nutritional information, ranging from nutritional icons describing
healthy heart items and food and nutritional groups, to detailing every menu
item’s portion size, number of calories, grams of fat, cholesterol, sodium,
etc.
Epicure Digital clients include educational institutions, hospitals,
independent and chain restaurants, contract food service companies, business
& industry, and cinemas and casinos among others.
The company's website (http://www.epicuredigital.com) has an extensive
portfolio of its client's menu board installations.
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