Website Offers New Way for Dieters to Shop

For those who require products for a particular diet, medical condition or lifestyle choice, there’s a new shopping website on the scene. Built for the 200 million consumers who shop with such needs in mind, Sifter offers “an unprecedented level of product information … [and] also increases retailer basket size and brand sales through enhanced shopper engagement,” according to Evanston, Illinois-based Sifter SP LLC. 

Sifter was created by Andrew and Thomas Parkinson, founders of Chicago-based Peapod, the world’s first online grocer, debuting back in 1989, and ItemMaster (now know as Syndigo), a Chicago-based provider of accurate grocery product detail to help shoppers makemore informed buying decisions. With new-to-market technology, Sifter enables online shoppers to discover and buy from more than 100,000 food products that match their personal dietary needs from trusted retail partners. Shoppers can set their own diet criteria, including the ability to exclude products with allergens and ingredients that the shopper needs to avoid, and then the site’s proprietary technology displays qualified products for their review.

“With 30 years of experience in both online grocery and grocery product data, our passion has been to create a simple, easy-to-use platform which helps people better manage their health through nutrition, while also helping products be discovered by shoppers who value a brand’s benefits, story and mission,” said Andrew Parkinson. “I think we are accomplishing this with Sifter.”

Sifter's “SiftTag” science-based filters conform to regulatory requirements and clinical practices. Among the functions found on the site are diet categories; a MyDiet profile displaying products that match users’ dietary needs; Sift on the Fly, which offers new products that fit a user’s diet; Brand Stories, offering information on brands’ benefits and mission, and even enabling the brands to sell directly to Sifter shoppers; Purchase options,allowingusers to purchase items from Sifter’s retail partners; RecipeSifter, where a user can copy and paste any recipe URL and Sifter will “sift” the recipe to show ingredient options and consistency with their diet preferences, with recommended products able to be added to the shopper’s eCart; and health-and-wellness content, including dietitian-curated articles, blogs, recipes and other information.

Sifter’s list of retail partners already includes Walmart, Amazon, Stop & Shop, The Giant Co. and Giant Food, with other major retailers and drug stores coming soon.

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart operates more than 11,300 stores under 56 banners in 27 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Walmart-owned Sam's Club ranks No. 9 on the list. Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on PG's list, and Stop & Shop, The Giant Co. and Giant Food are all banners of Ahold Delhaize USA, No. 11 in the ranking.