Meijer Launches "Nu-Me Weight Loss Challenge" with $15k in Prizes for Team Members

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Meijer is partnering with the nutritional scoring program, NuVal, for the first-ever "Nu-Me Weight Loss Challenge"  that will incent the 60,000 team members across the retailer's five-state footprint with the opportunity at prize money totaling $15,000 over the three-month contest. The program is the largest health and wellness contest in the retailer's history and the first-of-its-kind corporate partnership for NuVal.

"Health and wellness is an important cornerstone of what we stand for at Meijer," said Shari Steinbach, lead dietician and Healthy Living Advisor for Meijer. "NuVal has been a great partner for many years, offering a simple tool that helps shoppers make healthier food choices. We're excited to offer team members an opportunity to engage with NuVal in a fun and informative way that will help them make healthy changes in their lives."

Meijer team members from the store level to corporate headquarters signed up, and will compete as teams in one of eight divisions: Northern, Mid-Michigan, Eastern, Western, Central and Southern Regions, Supply Chain and Corporate. One team in each division will win a $1,000 grand prize.

To be eligible for the grand prize, all team members were required to get a verified weigh-in either at a Meijer Pharmacy or at Meijer Headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich. before the March 1 contest kick-off and again at the end of the challenge from May 20-31. The Nu-Me Challenge also features weekly activities through an internal portal that allows team members to win prizes for participating whether they've received a verified weigh-in or not. Through that portal, they will have access to weight loss strategies, NuVal tips for healthy eating and a feature that allows them to track their daily eating habits and exercise. Participants will also receive weekly newsletters with health and wellness ideas.

"At Meijer, our goal of providing simple solutions to make healthy living easier has always extended beyond our customers to our team members, but this contest will help us take it to a new level," said Amanda Senecal, Wellness Program Specialist at Meijer. "We think sparking this healthy competition among co-workers is an opportunity for a lot of fun."

The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System is a familiar feature to Meijer team members and shoppers since the retailer implemented it in 2009 to eliminate the nutritional mystery of a grocery product. The scoring system calculates and summarizes a grocery product's nutritional information into a single number. Scores are displayed directly on shelf tags, scale labels, and other signage throughout all 199 Meijer store locations, helping shoppers make quick and easy nutritional comparisons between foods. More information about NuVal at Meijer can be found at www.meijermealbox.com/nuval.

About NuVal: The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System scores foods and beverages based on more than 30 different nutrients and nutrition factors – everything from fiber and vitamins to sugar and sodium. It's powered by a patent-pending algorithm for measuring a product's nutritional quality. Nutrients with generally favorable effects on health are placed in the numerator, where higher values increase the NuVal Score. Nutrients with generally unfavorable effects on health are placed in the denominator, where higher values decrease the NuVal score. The result is a simple, easy to understand score from 1-100. The higher the score, the more nutritious the product. It was developed by an independent team of top nutrition and public health experts and is designed to help consumers make more nutritious choices. www.Nuval.com.

About Meijer: Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates 199 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. As a pioneer of the "one-stop shopping" concept, Meijer stores have evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive electronics departments, garden centers and apparel offerings. Additional information on Meijer and the ability to shop for more can be found at www.meijer.com. Follow Meijer on Twitter @twitter.com/Meijer and @twitter.com/MeijerPR or become a fan at www.facebook.com/meijer.

SOURCE Meijer