PulseConnect August Member Spotlight: Katrina Howard
This month, we spoke to Katrina Howard, a retail dietitian who works at Hy-Vee in Peoria, Illinois. Katrina also advises CrossFit athletes on their health & wellness. An active member since 2013, we asked Katrina a few questions to learn more about how PulseConnect adds value to her interactions with those whom she counsels.
Q: How do you use materials that you receive from PulseConnect?
A: I do store tours, recently they have been focused on weight loss, diabetes, and heart health. I give out coupons, samples, and educational materials to consumers during these store tours to encourage them to try healthy products.
Q: Could you describe a recent program that you found valuable and why?
A: I found the Del Monte materials very useful. I talk a lot about canned foods being as good as fresh, so it’s nice to have materials that support that. The one issue with canned foods is that it has extra sodium. However, the materials I received from PulseConnect showed how rinsing the canned food made it much healthier by cutting down on the amount of sodium.
Q: What are your clients asking you about? What are topics that you discuss on a daily basis?
A: I get a lot of questions about GMOs and artificial sweeteners. People hear from friends or the internet these terrible things about GMOs and artificial sweeteners, and a lot of it is just wrong. Some people don’t know what GMOs are, but think that they need to avoid them entirely. It just comes down to a lot of misinformation online.
Q: What do you like best about PulseConnect?
A: I really like the educational pieces that support the conversations I’m having during store tours. Having coupons and samples to hand out are great, and I love being able to share educational information with clients.
I also like being able to try products before I make a recommendation. Sometimes, you hear about healthy foods and get excited, but then they taste like dirt. I obviously don’t want to recommend products that taste like dirt.