Regional operator Giant Eagle always has pushed the envelope with new store concepts, as evidenced by its high-end Market District grocery brand and Giant Eagle Express, a convenience store/gas station replete with a wide offering of food items and a full-service, drive-through pharmacy.

Hannaford has been an innovator in the drive to bridge food and pharmacy. The chain’s dedication to health and wellness really gained attention in 2006 when it implemented Guiding Stars, the first storewide nutrition navigation system in the United States.

Harris Teeter describes itself as “not just a grocery store,” but also “a wellness center.” The Matthews, N.C.-based supermarket retailer has taken big steps to provide a broader-than-usual menu of services that blend its pharmacy assets with its growing reach as a source of nutritional expertise.

The nation’s largest supermarket chain wants a bigger share of the U.S. pharmacy and wellness market. To get it, Kroger is brandishing a growing arsenal of health and preventive services, and burnishing its image for value and convenience at the prescription counter.

Publix routinely makes strategic moves to enhance the customer experience in the pharmacy and health-and-wellness arena that are rooted in the customer service mindset that has made its supermarkets so popular.

Last fall the company introduced a new larger, triangular-shaped pill bottle that is designed to be easier to open. While the pill bottle redesign didn’t go as far as the award-winning program Target introduced a few years back, the move underscored the fact that Publix is a pharmacy innovator.

In an effort to deliver to shoppers a whole health-focused shopping experience, Supervalu’s pharmacy and grocery teams are working closely together to develop innovative service offerings that cut across three platforms: preventive care, diabetes care and medication therapy management. The chain clearly is demonstrating its focus on being a one-stop health solution for its shoppers.

Nothing shows a retailer that its revitalization efforts are working quite like a thumbs-up from customers. For Winn-Dixie Stores, that vote of confidence came in mid-February, when its pharmacy business was among 40 U.S. companies honored as 2011 “customer service champions” by J.D. Power and Associates.

Fido goes all-natural Holistic Select’s Holistix Natural Biscuits for dogs are wheat-free and come with chicken, white fish or bison. Price: $5.99    HolisticSelect.com

A funny thing happened on the way to the cash register. A coveted diabetic shopper intent on saving money saw promotions that resonated with value. She was hooked.

On this trip, promotions influenced her to expand her basket from just insulin to related care items, foot cream and a sugar-free treat. It was as if the retailer and suppliers completely understood her daily regimen, lifestyle, shopping behaviors, willingness to spend and purchase triggers. Indeed, they did.

How? They mastered the process of promotion optimization.

NEW YORK — Nestled within Bed Bath & Beyond’s Upper East Side location in New York City is the first-ever L’Oréal Paris “boutique.” The boutique carves out an oasis for beauty — a somewhat logical extension from the “bath” in “Bed Bath & Beyond.” The boutique features L’Oréal Paris skin care, hair care, cosmetics and hair color products.