Last year saw major achievements at Kroger Health, the pharmacy and health care arm of Kroger Co., the nation’s largest supermarket operator.
According to management, the company’s health and wellness businesses generated strong year-over-year sales growth that was driven by core pharmacy prescription growth and sale of GLP-1 drugs. Operating profit showed strong improvement, and the business also delivered gains in market share.
The division kicked off 2025 in January by expanding its drug safety program for high school students, Prescription Drug Safety: Know the Truth, to reach more than 470 schools across the country. The program is provided at no cost to middle and high schools through Kroger’s collaboration with Everfi, which specializes in connecting businesses and communities. The program curriculum is intended to reduce the number of young adults misusing prescription drugs.
The partnership with Everfi began in 2018, when about 700 students completed the program during the 2017-2018 academic year. During the 2024-2025 year alone, that number totaled almost 65,000. At the beginning of this year, Kroger announced it had reached the significant milestone of supporting more than 250,000 students who have completed the program.
“By equipping students with the knowledge and skills they can use to make better, healthier decisions, we’re building stronger, more resilient communities,” commented Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health.
Last February, Kroger Health announced it had reached a new agreement with Express Scripts, the nation’s second-largest pharmacy benefits manager. Kroger had ended its relationship with the PBM at the beginning of 2023, citing its inability to obtain a contract that would lower costs, increase access and provide greater transparency.
However, the decision to leave the Express Scripts pharmacy network immediately impacted Kroger’s top line. Executives acknowledged that its identical-store sales for the second quarter of 2023 would have increased 2.6% instead of the 1% it posted if it had not ended its pact with Express Scripts. The grocer subsequently contracted with Prime Therapeutics, a PBM owned by Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
The new agreement renews service for Kroger customers participating in Express scripts’ Medicare Part D plans and Tricare Department of Defense plans. It also allows Express Scripts commercial and Medicaid customers to obtain prescription drugs and health care service through the Kroger Family of Pharmacies. Those plans together cover more than 100 million residents of the United States.
“At Kroger Health, we believe everyone should have access to comprehensive health care,” said Lindholz at the time the new pact was announced. “We look forward to again serving Express Scripts customers. This agreement reaffirms our commitment to bringing high-quality services to more customers across the country.”
In May, Kroger sponsored the first annual Nourishing Change conference in Cincinnati. The Nourishing Change movement was launched to bring together leaders in retail, health care, pharmacy, academia, policy and technology with the goal of reimagining how healthier living can become more sustainable and accessible.
Lindholz, who has been the driving force behind Nourishing Change, described the genesis of the movement. “The challenge is that the United States of America spends more money on health care than any other country in the world, yet we rank very close to the bottom when it comes to outcomes,” she said. “We have the ability, we have the tools, we have the money to make a difference, and that’s what we are going to do — address the root causes of what’s going on in the country with these outcomes.”
The inaugural conference attracted more than 725 stakeholders from 37 states and 12 countries. The next conference will be co-hosted this year by Kroger and Hy-Vee Inc. in Des Moines from June 2 through June 4.
This year’s event will feature keynote presentations, panel discussions, networking opportunities and an Emerging Brands competition that will highlight budding entrepreneurs focused on providing health-focused products and services.
“The Nourishing Change conference unites industry leaders to break down silos, challenge conventional thinking, and reimagine how retail health can play a leading role in delivering innovative, quality, patient-centered health care,” said Jim Kirby, chief commercial officer of Kroger Health.
At the base of the Nourishing Change movement is the concept of food as medicine, which centers on the use of nutritious food to prevent, manage and treat health conditions, especially -diet-re-lated chronic diseases. The approach stresses the importance of access to healthy food as a key factor in improving overall health and well-being.
For its part, Kroger is focusing on personalizing the concept for customers whatever their present life stage. The company is providing FoodHealth Co.’s (formerly Bitewell) FoodHealth Score to help customers nationwide quickly identify foods that contribute to their health goals. The digital program can be accessed while shopping online or within the Kroger app, or while shopping in-store by scanning a product’s UPC code.
Kroger
KEY EXECUTIVE
Colleen Lindholz, President of
Kroger Health
HEADQUARTERS
1014 Vine St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Phone: (513) 762-4000
Website: kroger.com
TRADE CLASS — Supermarket
Full-year results
Pharmacy sales — $ 13.8 billion*
Overall sales — $147.6 billion
Number of stores — 2,694**
Number of pharmacies — 2,247
Number of states operating — 35, plus D.C.
*CDR estimate.
**Includes supermarkets and multi-department stores.
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