Better back-to-school displays

Inspire your customers with healthier, more sustainable back-to-school items in your displays for September. Highlight your store as a resource, easing the burden of making decisions about what to send for lunch.

Forego the obvious—sugar-laden, individually wrapped bars, cookies and juice boxes teachers don’t want in their classrooms anyway. Strive for innovative ideas for lunch items like small packages of crunchy edamame, low sodium popcorn, shelf-stable hummus and coconut water.

To be conscious of nut allergies:

• bulk-pack small containers of seeds and dried fruit for nut-free trail mix


• stock healthier nut-free bars and cereals that contain as much fibre as sugar


• display seed and soy butters to use in sandwiches and wraps


• offer dehydrated fruit like unsulphured apple rings and unsweetened mango


• include healthy “toppers” like hemp and chia seeds to boost protein and fibre

Forget puddings and applesauce that need spoons—it’s all about drinkable fruits and veggies. These aren’t just reserved for babies anymore. Canadian company, GoGosqueeZ, still manages to achieve two grams of fibre and only 10 grams of sugar per pouch.  Of course, this doesn’t replace the need for fresh fruit and veggies, but can be better than straight juice.

Create some colour with sustainable containers to pack lunch in:

• washable, colourful cloth pouches work well for packing cut up veggies


• stainless steel thermoses come with kid-friendly patterns and characters


• 500 mL glass or stainless steel water bottles are better for a child-size hand and contain no BPA


• stainless steel bento-style, compartmented containers and lunch boxes are great for packing the variety that kids adore

Inspire customers with recipes for healthy back-to-school items they can create with their kids, like the favourite “ants-on-a –log”, veggie-based muffins, wholegrain pita pizzas and sushi-inspired roll-up sandwiches. Consider demonstrating the recipes and products and have kids test them—then place a “kid-tested/approved” starburst to give parents confidence that the item won’t come back home rejected at the end of the school day.

Think outside the lunch “box” and develop your store as a destination for customers looking for healthy, sustainable options to pack for back-to-school. Not only will you see the sales in September, but they will keep coming back all year for more ideas.