Can convenience stores transform public health?

How Rice Marketing built a scalable model that turned convenience stores into catalysts for healthy food access in low-income communities across the UK.

Scaling with Government | Public Health | United Kingdom

Rice Marketing’s ambition is to make affordable, healthy food accessible to all. As an impact-driven marketing team, they collaborate with local and national government, the wider food industry, and academics in the UK to increase the availability of healthier, and culturally relevant food options at affordable prices in stores that primarily serve lower-income communities.

Challenge

The majority of Rice Marketing’s work was focused on local authorities in London. They worked area-by-area, with a select group of convenience stores, supported by successful partnerships with industry key players. An effective approach but not scalable as:

It was slow
Internal capacity was a bottleneck to meet growing demand
It wasn’t yet clear how the model created sustained impact.

Addressing the problem sustainably at scale required change across the food system; not just with a few stakeholders.

To reach impact goals and capitalise on the growing momentum around access to healthier food, Rice needed to translate their vision for a cross-sector movement into long-term reality, so we set out to design their scale strategy

“We now have a bold, communicable strategy, giving us the foundation to successfully engage the entire food industry in tackling the problem.”

— Stephanie Rice, Founder & CEO of Rice Marketing and Good Food Retail Network

Our approach

To shift Rice Marketing's work to a national, scalable model meant focusing on three key areas. The process maximised Rice Marketing’s distinctive contribution in tackling the issue and set a clear path for scaling and sustaining their impact.

Reducing organisational pressure while enabling their teams

This meant designing a model that allowed Rice Marketing to harness increasing interest without significantly expanding their team.

It shifted their role from delivering on individual relationships to targeted engagement across cross-sector stakeholders.

Ensuring the model responded to sector needs

This meant testing and validating new and existing products through real-world partner engagement.

It ensured that their services are practical, sustainable, and responsive.

Creating a financial model to support sustainability

The role of this piece was to establish a clear picture of all associated costs required to deliver at scale.

It also paired that understanding with a plan for how those costs would be met, making decisions on resource mobilisation easier.

RESULTS

Strategic clarity: Rice Marketing now has a bold, focused scale strategy that provides clarity on the roles stakeholders can play in achieving meaningful change.

A national movement: They turned local work into a national movement, successfully engaging a diverse group of cross-sector stakeholders.

Built for longevity: The model now ensures convenience stores embed lasting behaviour change, with healthier products becoming a permanent fixture.

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