44% higher chronic condition risk than industry benchmarks — Ventura Foods turned that gap into $864K in savings and 94% of members improving their health.
Ventura Foods faced elevated chronic condition risk across its manufacturing workforce. By building a three-pillar wellbeing strategy around physical, emotional, and financial health — with engagement as a leading indicator and claims as a lagging one — they achieved 68% enrollment, 1.4:1 ROI, and 23% lower attrition among enrolled members within a measurable, multi-year roadmap.
Ventura Foods
With a diverse employee population, the organization recognized the growing impact of health risks on its people and its business. The organization set out to strengthen employee wellbeing while managing rising healthcare costs, ensuring its workforce could continue delivering its mission with resilience and consistency.
Challenges & Goals
Facing increasing health risks and limited engagement, Ventura Foods needed to reimagine its approach to wellbeing. Their goals were to:
- Reduce high chronic condition risk across manufacturing populations
- Increase engagement with primary care and preventive services
- Drive sustainable behavior change to improve long-term health outcomes and cost trends
Strategy
Ventura Foods partnered with Personify Health to build a holistic wellbeing strategy grounded in leadership alignment and measurable behavior change. The program is organized around three core pillars—physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing—with each available benefit intentionally mapped to a pillar to help employees clearly see how their choices connect to their overall health.
Rather than leading with long‑term ROI alone, Ventura Foods defines success through a two‑part model: platform engagement as a leading indicator and claims reduction as a lagging indicator. This approach allows the organization to monitor early behavior change and adjust the program in real time, knowing that financial impact would follow as healthier habits take hold.
Preventive care plays a central role in the strategy. Ventura Foods structured incentives around a core action reward for completing preventive care screenings, with additional earning opportunities tied to key services such as colon cancer screenings, dental checkups, flu shots, mammograms, and Pap tests. This design reinforces timely preventive action while giving employees flexibility to prioritize care most relevant to their needs.
To further support engagement across all pillars, Ventura Foods continues to evolve the program by introducing new solutions and resources that address physical health, nutrition, mindfulness, and financial wellbeing. With leadership involved from the start, the organization has positioned wellbeing as a strategic priority and is using engagement and outcomes insights to inform the next phase of the program—including the development of a more formal, multi‑year roadmap designed to sustain participation and impact over time.
Results & Impact
Informed by a baseline analysis that revealed a 44% higher chronic condition risk compared to industry benchmarks, Ventura Foods prioritized engagement as an early signal of success to better understand and influence employee behavior. That focus gave the organization clear visibility into program momentum and areas of opportunity. Over time, those early engagement gains translated into improved health outcomes, stronger retention, and positive financial impact—positioning wellbeing as a sustainable lever for long‑term cost management.
- 68% enrollment (20% higher than Personify Health Book of Business)
- 54% engagement in early 2026 since Biometrics are due in Q1
- 71% biometrics utilization in 2025
- 985 preventive care completions in 2025, reflecting sustained engagement across screenings such as colon cancer, dental checkups, flu shots, mammograms, and Pap tests—up from 752 total completions in 2022.
- 94% of members with improved health outcomes
- 67% maintained or improved blood pressure
- 9 of 16 Health Risk Assessment measures improving year over year, such as Sleep, Stress, Tobacco, Safety, and Social Support
- 1.4:1 ROI ($864K savings)
- 23% enrolled members show lower attrition
This success helped reposition wellbeing as a strategic lever—driving healthier employees, stronger engagement, and a foundation for sustainable cost management.
“The Live Better wellness program at Ventura Foods, powered by Personify Health, is a cornerstone of our employee experience and Total Rewards offering. It aims to drive positive behavior changes in the realm of physical, financial, and emotional wellness through meaningful engagement, helping our employees and their families live happier, healthier lives while creating sustainable cost structures for all.”
“Every decision we made was about helping people take small, consistent steps that improve their health and ultimately reduce long-term costs for both employees and the company.”
“It was trying to get everybody to understand the holistic wellness picture. We made three categories — physical, emotional, and financial well-being — and then tied our entire benefits plan to which pillar each benefit fit under. That was kind of the aha moment.”
“When people get their biometrics done, they know their numbers — and all of a sudden, PCP visits have skyrocketed. When we take that to our C-Suite, they’re extremely happy to see the increase in people taking care of themselves.”