Schnuck Markets to launch Agentic AI shopping assistant
A regional grocery chain plans to individualize its shopping experience with the help of next-gen artificial inteliigence.
Schnuck Markets Inc. is partnering with digital nutrition platform VitalityIP to roll out an agentic AI shopping assistant in late summer 2026. The assistant, which will be available on the Schnucks website and rewards app, will deliver nutrition guidance, meal ideas and product recommendations tailored to individual customer needs and preferences.
“Our customers are telling us they want trusted guidance with a number of aspects on their visits to Schnucks, whether they’re meal planning, tracking health goals, balancing special dietary needs, stretching their budget, or looking for inspiration in the kitchen,” said Tom Henry, Schnucks chief data and information officer. “Together with VitalityIP, we're creating a shopping experience that's not only enjoyable but also more personal, more helpful and more rewarding.”
The agent will run on an intelligence layer built from more than six billion lines of shopping, health and nutrition data based on Schnucks customer behavior and actual store inventory. The platform will be designed to help customers support health and lifestyle initiatives such as weight management, healthy aging, recovery, and family wellness.
Schnucks maintains ownership of the customer relationship, shopper data and brand experience while leveraging VitalityIP's AI and its proprietary database. Schnucks will be the first retailer to debut the VitalityIP platform.
The grocery retailer has also been leveraging the Domo AI and data products solution as an enterprise reporting platform in an effort to eliminate fragmented, siloed data. As a result, Schnucks obtains real-time, actionable insights from its stores, warehouses, vendors, and internal departments.
[READ MORE: Schnuck Markets consolidates enterprise data reporting]
“Today, nearly 90% of Americans suffer from a food-related condition that VitalityIP and retail grocers can impact,” said Sarah Hoit, Co-Founder and CEO of VitalityIP. “Food is medicine, but until now, personalized nutrition options haven’t been available where people make food decisions every day. Schnucks recognized an opportunity to transform grocery shopping into a powerful experience that can actually help customers optimize their lives. Together we've made the latest food and nutrition science practical, personal and accessible for every shopper."
Founded in St. Louis in 1939, Schnuck Markets Inc. is a third- and fourth-generation, family-owned grocery retailer operating 112 stores across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Schnucks is part of 1939 Group Inc., which is owned by the family that founded Schnuck Markets. Other companies in the portfolio include Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers Inc.
