REWCO?s Wellness & Lifestyles team has been involved in natural food education and marketing since 1978, when Bob Wintz and his team were the first to bring natural foods to grocery stores in the Eastern United States. This innovation in supermarket merchandising planted the roots of the Wellness & Lifestyles (W&L) Group. It became evident that a significant key to sales productivity and growth is the knowledge level of the store level associates. The more they knew about the product and the customers they were serving, the greater the sales growth. A knowledgeable store level associate is comfortable engaging with the consumer. They become a trusted resource to those new to natural foods and a fellow advocate to the committed natural consumer. The result is more confident and committed associates, greater customer loyalty and increased productivity and sales.