Upmarket UK grocer Waitrose has announced that it is trialling yoga classes in three of its stores.
From Monday 12 February, evening yoga sessions will be taking place in Waitrose's Basingstoke and Newbury stores, and from Monday 19 February, the retailer's new Banbury shop will also start hosting the classes.
Waitrose says that classes will be suitable for all levels, and will cost £7 per session.
"We know that overall well-being is increasingly important to our customers," said Moira Howie, nutrition manager at Waitrose.
"In addition to eating well they can now relax and enjoy the benefits of yoga in selected Waitrose stores while meeting new people.”
Sam Rao, one of the qualified yoga instructors who will be running the classes, said that practicing yoga in a supermarket "could be the perfect balance", as consumers focus more on eating well and moving well.
Health Focus
Once the trial period has been completed, Waitrose says that it will review whether to introduce yoga evenings to more of its stores across the UK.
As part of its efforts to promote wellbeing, the supermarket chain is also currently trialling a personal nutritionist service in its Canary Wharf and Kingston stores, which are designed to provide customers with dietary advice tailed to their individual needs.
The supermarket also recently unveiled its 'Good Health' label, which now appears on nutritious food and drink products across its stores.
"We believe there are few things more important than the food we eat, but we know people sometimes find it difficult to know what’s a healthier choice, or to know which foods provide certain nutrients," said Nathalie Winn, senior nutritionist at Waitrose.
"We wanted to make it easier than ever for our customers to know they’re selecting food that not only tastes good, but is good for you too."
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
