Our correspondent
Stephanie Miller catches up with the team at Kroger to learn more about the
Kroger Wellness Tour—an initiative taking the company’s commitment to health and wellness beyond the grocery aisle and directly into communities across the country.
The idea has roots in Cincinnati, Kroger’s hometown, where the Kroger Wellness Festival grew into a major community event focused on making healthier living more approachable, accessible, and engaging. In 2026, Kroger expanded that vision, evolving the Cincinnati festival into the Kroger Wellness Tour and bringing wellness experiences to stores and communities nationwide.
Throughout September, participating Kroger Family of Stores locations are hosting wellness activations every Friday and Saturday. Shoppers can sample better-for-you products, learn about nutrition and Kroger’s OptUP® program, and connect directly with Kroger Health professionals, including pharmacists and registered dietitians.
The tour is built around a holistic view of wellness, focusing not only on nutrition, but on movement, self-care, mental and emotional well-being, and helping families develop healthier habits. Kroger has organized the experience around six wellness pillars—Balance, Move, Breathe, Care, Uplift, and Play.
The 2026 tour also expanded beyond traditional in-store activations with larger community Wellness Celebrations in the Nashville area, Houston, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. These mini-festival experiences include product sampling, wellness activities, health screenings, live cooking demonstrations, fitness experiences, and live entertainment.
It represents an interesting evolution in the role retailers can play in community health. Kroger already has pharmacists, dietitians, and other healthcare professionals interacting with millions of people through its stores and health services. The Wellness Tour brings those resources together in a format designed to make taking that first step toward better health feel easier.
Stephanie caught up with the Kroger team to hear more about how the program has grown from its Cincinnati roots, what they have learned along the way, and why Kroger believes bringing health and wellness resources directly into the communities it serves can make a meaningful difference.
