Woolworths unveils changes to its shopping trolleys: Supermarket giant sells dividers for $35

Woolworths is rolling out a major change in the way millions of Aussies shop to encourage healthier choices, but there’s a big catch.

The supermarket giant plans to introduce optional shopping cart “dividers” that customers can use to sort their groceries into five labeled compartments.

These are: fruits, vegetables and legumes, grains, meat and dairy products, plus a fifth box for ‘sometimes’ foods, which are presumably for less healthy snacks.

The trolley inserts resemble bags to load groceries into, but they are not free and instead cost $35.

The divider, a joint initiative by Woolworths and pharmacy and wellbeing website Healthylife, is being released at a time when Australians are already under intense pressure to live.

The supermarket giant plans to introduce optional shopping cart ‘dividers’ that customers can use to sort their groceries into five labeled compartments

The compartments in the dividers are for fruits, vegetables and legumes, grains, meat and dairy, plus “sometimes” foods, which are presumably for less healthy snacks

Groceries are among the top spending categories that cause households the most pain.

Food prices are still rising in double digits, with bread and grain prices rising by 12.8 percent and the cost of dairy products rising by 15.1 percent.

Costs for take-out and dining out increased 7.7 percent, while overall food and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased 7.9 percent.

In February, Woolworths announced earnings of $907 million for the first half of its fiscal year 2022-2023. Cole’s earnings for the same period were $616 million.

Both will be announced at the end of this month.

Healthylife claimed to have examined data from 900 million customer transactions at Woolworths, and found that Australians generally don’t buy enough of their groceries from essential food groups.

The Australian government’s dietary guidelines recommend that people eat from five food groups every day: vegetables, fruit, grains (including bread, rice and pasta), protein and iron-rich sources such as lean meats, fish, eggs and tofu, and dairy products.

Woolworth’s Everyday Rewards app includes a nutrient tracker developed by Healthylife that helps customers keep track of how much added sugar, salt and saturated fat they buy.

Woolworths reported that 182,000 Australians have signed up to use Healthylife’s Foodtracker app.

In a promotional video for Healthylife’s 2023 Living Healthy Report, the spokesperson, dietician Simone Austin, claimed that Australians lost “5 million years of healthy living” in 2018 due to “premature death and living with non-fatal illnesses.”

Ms Austin said the ‘burden of disease’ in Australia could be reduced because up to 33 per cent of disease could be prevented, ‘by addressing modifiable risk factors such as diet, sleep and exercise’.

The government recommends that people eat vegetables, fruits, grains (including bread, rice and pasta), protein and iron-rich sources such as lean meats, fish, eggs and tofu, and dairy products every day

Woolworths reported that 182,000 Australians have signed up to use healthylife’s Foodtracker app

The trolley dividers are one of several programs and initiatives that Woolworths has recently introduced.

It also added health star ratings to the packaging of its own-brand products and has reduced the salt, sugar and saturated fat of its products while adding more vegetables and whole grains.

“Last fiscal year, Woolworths Food Company removed 540 tons of saturated fat, sugar and salt from its products and added 15,300 tons of whole grains and 2,300 tons of vegetables to its own-brand products,” the company said on its website.

Daily Mail Australia approached Healthylife and Woolworths for comment.

The move to offer dividers for $35 comes as Australians struggle to keep up with the cost of living crisis.

Consumers spend an average of nearly $2,000 more per year on groceries.