Laura Brown, MS, RD, LDN, was a musical theater junkie from a young age. So it makes sense that one of her roles in the professional world was performing with Jump with Jill, the world’s only rock-and-roll nutrition show. She visited elementary schools and taught children healthy habits through music and dance. A versatile dietitian, she also worked in sports nutrition, research, outpatient clinics, school-based health and public relations. But she soon found herself in retail, where she now leads nutrition for Kroger Health’s Food for Health portfolio. Her work has been some of the most exciting and rewarding in her career.

“Retail is where health decisions happen every day: in the cart, in the kitchen and at the checkout,” Brown said. “By embedding dietitians into the retail environment, we close the gap between advice and action: helping customers make better-for-you swaps, find budget-friendly options and build sustainable habits at scale. It’s the most direct path I’ve found to influence the millions of small choices that ultimately drive health outcomes.”

Brown credits her success to relationship-building, seizing opportunities and a willingness to learn business acumen on the job. In this edition of RD Close Up, Brown details her past, present and how she sees retail dietetics as a space where evidence-based science meets real-world impact. Below is the exclusive interview.

Q. Describe your role.

A. I’m Director of Nutrition for Kroger Health’s Food for Health portfolio, connecting our pharmacy, clinic and nutrition services so customers can translate health advice into everyday grocery choices. My team develops and scales programs like virtual nutrition care, OptUP® (our nutrition scoring system), shoppable dietary tags and evidence-based content that makes nutrition recommendations practical, personalized and simple across our ecosystem.

Q. Why did you want to work in dietetics?

My journey into dietetics was very personal. I grew up in the performing arts and attended Cincinnati’s performing arts high school, dreaming of becoming a professional performer. At the same time and from a young age, I knew I wanted to be a mother one day, and I understood that balancing both dreams would be challenging.

I decided that if I was going to pursue musical theatre in college, I would aim for an elite conservatory. However, the day before my audition, I fell from the choir bleachers and broke my foot, my third fracture in one year. That moment pushed me to look more closely at my health. Through self-reflection, I realized my diet was significantly lacking, and I became determined to understand nutrition and how it impacts the body. That curiosity quickly turned into a passion and ultimately led me to dietetics.

Q. Why did you want to work in retail?

A. When I first began my career in dietetics, I didn’t even know retail dietetics existed! My first decade in the field was intentionally diverse. I worked in sports nutrition, research, outpatient clinics, school-based health and public relations. One of the most unique experiences was a three-year stint as a performing artist in Jump with Jill. In that role, I had the joy of visiting elementary schools and teaching children healthy habits through music and dance (truly a dream job).

Many of these performances were sponsored by corporate partners, including retail chains. This was my first exposure to the retail space, and I was immediately intrigued by the opportunity to influence health behaviors at scale. The idea of meeting people where they already shop and helping make healthy choices more accessible felt like a powerful way to create meaningful impact.

Q. How did you get the job at your retailer?

A. During my time with Jump with Jill, I built strong relationships with many retail dietitians. I stayed in touch with them even as I moved into other roles, advice I now give to students and early-career dietitians. Nurture and maintain professional relationships throughout your career; they truly are key to long-term success. One of these connections later reached out to share an opportunity at Kroger, which happens to be headquartered in my hometown. I even have fond childhood memories of shopping there with my parents, so the possibility immediately felt meaningful.

I applied for a few roles at Kroger, including the corporate role I ultimately hold today, but I wasn’t selected initially. A few months later, HR contacted me about a patient-facing dietitian position. While I hadn’t planned to return to direct patient care, I knew breaking into the retail space was the right strategic move, so I applied and was offered the role. I spent two years providing nutrition care to customers both in-store and virtually, then advanced to a supervisor role for one year. From there, I took a significant leap into my current position, a move that was admittedly a little terrifying, but ultimately one of the most exciting and rewarding steps in my career.

Q. What do you like about it?

A. I’ve been in my current role for over two years, and I genuinely wake up every morning excited about the work we’re doing. What I love is the pace and variety. No two days (or even hours) are the same. I’m never bored and each day leaves me energized and eager to come back and tackle the next challenge, pushing the needle a little further every time.

Q. What has been the biggest challenge for you as a dietitian working in the retail industry?

A. I often half-joke that part of my role is to evangelize nutrition within retail. A significant piece of my work involves breaking down the misconception that dietitians are here to tell customers to stop buying their favorite indulgent foods or that our goal is for retailers to stop carrying them altogether. I firmly believe all foods can fit into a balanced diet and even as a dietitian, I enjoy a salty snack or sweet treat just like anyone else. Our approach is to empower consumers to make the best decisions for themselves and their families whenever possible. Striking the right balance in how this is implemented can be a delicate line to walk, and that’s where much of the challenge lies.

Another ongoing challenge is prioritization. There’s a tremendous amount of work to be done in retail, both within nutrition and beyond it, and determining where to focus time and resources for the greatest impact is a constant balancing act.

Q. What is one thing you wish you had known before starting your career in retail?

A. I wish I had known earlier that a career in retail dietetics was even an option. I would have entered this field sooner, and more importantly, if I had known about it while I was still in school, I would have prioritized taking business-related courses or even pursued a master’s degree in business. Much of what I know about business today has been learned on the job. At first, that was challenging, but I quickly realized the importance of asking questions, acknowledging knowledge gaps and staying open to learning. That mindset has been essential to my growth and success in retail.

Q. Has there been anything specific that helped you move forward in your role?

A. Being willing to put myself out there, say yes to opportunities and consistently nurture professional relationships has been key. About one year into my time at Kroger, my current position opened up. I knew I wasn’t fully ready for the role, but I wanted leadership and the hiring committee to know my name, my skill set and my interest in growing into that type of work. To my surprise, I became a finalist and received feedback that I was a strong candidate.

Over the next few years, I continued to raise my hand for new opportunities, said yes to requests from leadership and stayed connected with key stakeholders. When the position opened again a few years later, I was a natural choice. That experience reinforced for me that growth often comes from showing initiative before you feel completely ready.

Q. Is there a program or initiative that you are most proud of?

A. It’s hard to choose just one, but I would say our OptUP® nutrition scoring program. OptUP® rates grocery items on a scale of 1 to 100 based on overall nutritional density and ingredient quality. It helps customers make informed decisions by simplifying the nutrition facts panel and ingredient list, while clearly highlighting nutritious options directly in the shopping experience.

What makes OptUP® especially powerful is that it’s more than a consumer-facing tool. It’s also a population health and business strategy tool. We use it to personalize recommendations, guide private-label product reformulation and design interventions that improve health outcomes at scale. It’s truly foundational to our work because it connects individual food choices with broader health and business goals. We have exciting developments planned for OptUP® in 2026 and I can’t wait for customers to experience what’s next.

Q. Have any “hot topics” in the dietetics/nutrition industry impacted the way you do things?

A. Absolutely. We continuously evolve our content and counseling to reflect emerging evidence: from responsible guidance around GLP-1-supported weight care, to growing microbiome research, to shifting definitions of what consumers consider nutritious. Staying evidence-based while translating complex science into practical, everyday choices is a core part of our work.

I also think this is an especially exciting time to be in retail nutrition. Consumers are more engaged in health and wellness than ever before, and factors like the rise of GLP-1 medications, evolving healthcare priorities and the constant influence of social media create both complexity and opportunity. That environment allows us to respond in real time, support customers with credible guidance and ultimately drive meaningful health and business outcomes.

Bio:

Laura N. Brown, MS, RD, LDN, works as Director of Nutrition at The Kroger Co., where she leads the company’s Food for Health strategy and programs including the OptUP® Nutrition Program and virtual nutrition counseling services available in 44 states. She received her master’s degree in exercise physiology from Michigan State University in East Lansing and her bachelor’s degree in dietetics and exercise science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It was there she met her husband, and they’ve been married for nearly 12 years. They have two young daughters and a dog.

Before joining Kroger, Laura worked as head of nutrition at Orange Shoe Personal Fitness and in school-based health, public relations and nutrition education roles. She completed her dietetic internship at Emory University Hospitals in Atlanta, Georgia. She currently resides with her family in Cincinnati where she enjoys the outdoors and running with her dog and bestie neighbor. She stays connected to her musical theatre roots by seeing shows, singing at church and turning bedtime into a full-blown Broadway lullaby production for her daughters. (Just kidding.)