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Special Section: Top Retailers

by VRM Media | June 1, 2010

Setting the Standard in Ohio

Mustard Seed Market & Café (Montrose and Solon, OH) • Years in Business: 29 • Store Count: 2 Owners: Margaret and Phillip Nabors

Twenty-nine years ago, Margaret and Phillip Nabors founded the Mustard Seed Market & Café with strict ingredient standards: no artificial colors, flavorings or harmful chemical preservatives, no saccharin or aspartame, no irradiated foods and meats raised without the use of growth hormones and never fed animal by-products.

In the 1990s, Philip Nabors was involved with industry leaders with crafting the strategy for DSHEA.

“There was no health food industry when they started. They were really trailblazers in Ohio,” noted the couple’s son, Abraham Nabors, a second-generation owner. His sister and brother, Marcella and Gabe, also are involved in the business.

This year, for the store’s Earth Day/Birthday anniversary celebration, the family gave away 50,000 trees to customers—a tradition held for years.

“We have given away about one half million trees since we started the initiative,” said Nabors. “My parents came up with idea. Besides being natural food advocates, we are huge environmentalists.” That environmentalism has also manifested in strong local organic farmer relationships for the store.

“We deal with 120 local farms in Ohio and much of that is organic,” Nabors said. The local products are mostly produce but also include meat, cheese, dairy, eggs, supplements, health and beauty items, and beer and wine.

“There is a synergistic effect from supporting the local economy; it helps everyone. A rising tide raises all ships.” Mustard Seed Market & Café also dedicates plenty of space for its supplement section. In the Solon location, there are six rows of supplements.

“In general, the trends of our supplement sales are superfoods, whole food and organic.” Many familiar manufacturers are represented: Barlean’s, Solgar, New Chapter, Garden of Life, and the list goes on, Nabors said.

In selling supplements, the key to the store’s success is its knowledgeable, friendly staff, he noted. “In particular, the combination of product knowledge and five star customer service.” Along with hiring only qualified candidates in the supplement department, the store offers in-store training upon hire, and has strong relationships with vendors.

For all staff members there are continuing education events and the supplement team is asked to attend to trade shows.

“The major formula for success is our wonderful staff,” stressed Nabors. “The level of knowledge and expertise is invaluable. Many of them believe in the greater mission … and so do our customers.

And we have some of the best customers around. It’s a joy for me to work with them every day.”

Austin’s Favorite Pharmacy

People’s RX (Austin, TX) • Years in business: 27 • Store Count: 4 • Owner: Bill Swail, Rph
What sets People’s RX apart from a traditional natural product store is its unique pharmacy model of service. The staff is mostly made up of counselors, including highly trained nutritionists, naturopaths, homeopaths, chiropractors and acupuncturists. The store offers a multitude of health seminars as well as private consultations and features state-ofthe- art prescription compounding facilities as well as holistic, sometimes hardto- find products.

The store’s CAM specialists are available for customers full time, said Ray Solano, registered pharmacist, CCN, MBA and a board certified clinical nutritionist.

“We also have clerks, but everyone has done advanced training in nutrition.” Most customers have been recommended, Solano said, though some walk-in shoppers are quite surprised by the store’s concept. “We don’t just let someone come in, pick up something off the shelf and leave. We want to find out if the product is appropriate for them,” Solano added.

After 27 years, People’s RX is still expanding. It opened a wellness clinic for consultations and has a physician there once a week.

While the store offers a variety of professional products for health practitioners, supplement lines such as Garden of Life, Nordic Naturals and New Chapter are top sellers. When choosing supplement brands, the store looks for quality ingredients, the selection of ingredients and products not using ingredients that are perceived to cause inflammation. They also have to be gluten-, dairy-, wheat- and cornfree.

“Manufacturers have to be able to prove their quality. We prefer that all conform with FDA regulations in compliance with for nutrients,” Solano said.

With about 80 percent of the store’s real estate dedicated to retail supplements, another of the pharmacy’s unique features is a deli that serves organic soups and fresh sandwiches, salads, baked goods and coffee. Solano noted that the deli plans to go completely gluten-free by July.

The store also offers grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, eggs and raw goat yogurt—all with a local focus. Even buying supplements from a local manufacturer makes sense. “We have our delivery drivers pick up the stock saving on freight charges and packing materials,” Solano said. “It’s a time saver, too, because we don’t have to unpack things.” All this adds up to a committed customer following, Solano added. “A lot of people depend on us. They say they can’t leave Austin because without People’s Pharmacy they wouldn’t know what to do.”

Franchise-Worthy Natural Products Retailer

Richard’s Foodporium (Sarasota, FL) • Years in Business: 31 Store Count: 11 corporate; 2 franchises • Owner: John Rorer

Founded in southwest Florida in 1979, Richard’s Foodporium™ has grown to become a leader in neighborhood natural foods and shopping convenience. Over the last 30 years, owners built the brand from a handful of stores to become the first and only natural and specialty foods franchisor in the country.

“We became legal in September and have signed our first two franchisees, with more in process,” John Rorer, the owner said. “We also intend to continue growing corporate stores, but are focused on getting franchising launched properly first. We ended up 2009 with positive comps and expect further growth per gross sales in 2010.” One of the store’s keys to success is closely monitoring stock, said Rorer. “We carefully review all movement data—our own, manufacturers, SPINS—and work with each major vendor to create a ‘core set’ that is then rotated per what’s moving or not, new products in, etc.” The store is notable for its commitment to value. “We work closely with vendors on promotions off shelf, displays, our flyer program and everyday value pricing,” Rorer said. As for the supplement department, including herbs, the average is about 10-15 fourfoot sections, with gross average sales of about 33 percent. The top selling supplement lines include NOW Foods, Jarrow, Country Life and the store’s own private label.

Staff training is also a priority as the store currently has four training modules and it is working on further modules and training programs for corporate employees and franchises alike. “Our staff is trained in relationship building with customers and in providing exceptional customer service. We stress hightouch, low-push, solution-based selling,” Rorer said.

Rorer noted that in the franchising model and new prototype décor package, the store is working on environmental solutions such as the maintenancefree flooring made of up to 90 percent recycled materials, energy efficient lighting and low VOC paints. The store discontinued using paper bags and uses 100 percent biodegradable plastic bags for consumers. Richard’s is also a Sarasota County Green Business Partner.

Richard’s participates in multiple community and charity events, such as a Cookbook for Charity, where all profits went to All Faiths Food Bank, as well as many small donations throughout the year for local charities. “We also do many community events in the market areas where we have stores, do in-store demos and seminars from local practitioners,” Rorer added.

For Eco-Smart Initiatives, MOM’s Knows Best

MOM’s Organic Market (Rockville, MD) • Years in Business: 23 • Store Count: 6 • Owner: Scott Nash

MOM’s Organic Market recently opened its sixth location in Bowie, MD, but its growth doesn’t stop there. MOM’s plans to renovate two stores and open a seventh by the end of this year, and open two additional stores over the next four years, all in the Washington, DC metro area. And while MOM’s is a destination for shoppers looking to stock up on MOM’s private label supplements or any of its many other top brands—New Chapter, Nature’s Way, Mega Foods and Country Life—what sets MOM’s apart is its clear dedication to the environment.

MOM’s purchases wind power to offset 100 percent of its electricity via its Environmental Restoration program, and offers employees “green benefits” such as a $3,000 incentive for the purchase of hybrid vehicles and a 20 percent subsidy incentive to purchase Energy Star appliances.

Twice yearly, MOM’s parking lots fill with employees equipped with tire pressure gauges and portable air compressors; customers who participate in this program can have their tire pressures checked and inflated to the proper levels, increasing fuel efficiency by as much as 10 percent.

MOM’s has also eliminated the use of plastic bags and reduced its paper bag consumption by more than 250,000 bags per year (known as its Think Outside the Bag initiative). Its Stop the Stuff program, in just 12 months, has recycled 13,041 pounds of plastic bags; 29,715 pounds of commingled items; 18,953 pounds of mixed paper; 13,750 pounds of batteries; 506 large bags of packing peanuts; 273 large bags of bubble wrap; over 5,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs; and 750 tons of cardboard; and has diverted 73 tons of vegetable trimmings to compost.

Most importantly, MOM’s maintains communication with its shoppers. For example, when MOM’s launched its Think Outside the Bag initiative, it hung signs throughout the stores alerting customers to the problems of disposable plastic and paper bags. It then trained staff to identify customers who were determined “reusers,” showing the slightest incentive to reuse products (already reusing old bags or reusable bags, bringing in their own containers for bulk purchases, requesting a bag, etc.). For such customers, MOM’s provided as many bags as needed free of charge. It also gave one free bag to each customer who spent more than $50. MOM’s then monitored these customers as they returned to see if they reused the bag, or if they, too, were eligible for “reuser” status and perks.

Buttoned Up Education

Nutrition S’Mart (Pembrook Pines, FL) • Years in Business: 15 • Store Count: 6 • Owners: Lucy and Eduardo Gruvman

This month, Nutrition S’Mart, with six locations throughout Florida, will celebrate 15 years in service to the industry. This top retailer sets itself apart with its dedication to education.

The stores boast 20 events or more monthly, ranging from guest speakers to product demos. Nutrition S’Mart, because of its range of stock (from supplements like Solaray, New Chapter, Solgar, Garden of Life and Bluebonnet—its top sellers— to organic produce, health and beauty to frozen foods, and fresh meat in some stores), aims to offer a varied educational experience for any shopper.

According to Lucy Gruvman, supplement buyer and co-owner of Nutrition S’Mart’s Palm Beach location, taste fairs, health and beauty days, cholesterol screenings, blood drives, cooking classes, raw food prep classes and glutenfree cooking classes are just some of the events offered throughout the stores’ locations. Nutrition S’Mart also makes its stores available for consultations and talks with local nutritionists; if the event is successful, the store will bring the nutritionist back for monthly events. A raw food preparation specialist is even on staff to give consistent classes to customers interested in the movement. To get the word out, Gruvman said, store employees wear buttons displaying event information.

These buttons change every month or even every week, depending on the volume of events on the calendar.

Event information is also easily accessible to customers at each register and on its website.

Keeping in line with its dedication to educational outreach, Nutrition S’Mart also focuses on community outreach.

For example, said Gruvman, the store partners with Safe Harbor, a no kill animal shelter, to host an annual dog wash festival, at which the store has a booth.

“We try to get out in chamber events, to outreach with schools and organizations that bring awareness to breast cancer or arthritis, for example,” said Gruvman, noting that even if the store cannot participate as a vendor at the event, a donation is always made in the form of a gift basket to raffle or monetary contribution. “Anything that will serve the community better, we try to be involved.”

Super Supplements (Seattle,WA) • Years in Business: 16 • Store Count: 21 • Owner: John Wurts An Educational Core
John Wurts opened his first store in 1994—an 846 square foot space in Seattle called Seattle Super Supplements—aiming to offer high-quality nutritional supplements at discounted prices, with an emphasis on staff and customer education.

Long hours and dedication helped the fledgling store off the ground.

Sixteen years later, the company has grown to a 21-store chain averaging between 1,000 and 5,000 square feet, carrying 8,000 SKUs, with a much larger selection company-wide.

From 2007-09, supplements represented approximately 72-75 percent of Super Supplements’ total business.

Some of its top-selling brands include Carlson, Natural Factors, New Chapter, NOW Foods, Solaray and Source Naturals, with varying reasons why they’re so popular.

“NOW Foods offers a large range of good quality, reasonably priced products that cover all of the categories we sell,” said Wurts. “Solaray does well because of the wide range of single herbs in both natural and standardized formulas. They are always innovating and releasing new products regularly. And New Chapter does well because its supplements and herbs are whole-food complexes.” Aside from stocking solid product, Wurts expressed that the store’s primary key to success is its employees and their dedication to ongoing education.

Given its location, many current staff members have attended or graduated from Bastyr University. Other team members have backgrounds in naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, herbology and personal fitness.

In addition to vendor product trainings, Super Supplements has an inhouse product educator completely devoted to educating employees. In total, product training to all employees equals about 100 hours per year.

“We have a strong commitment to offer our employees on-going training so that it keeps them well-educated and knowledgeable on all of our products,” he said.

But education doesn’t stop with the employees. In order to enhance its presence in the community, the company offers free educational events regularly in its Georgetown location to educate consumers on topics revolving around health, wellness and the benefits of supplements.

Super Supplements continues to grow its stores and business as a whole.

In 2009, the company updated its website to include e-commerce.

Additionally, in 2010 it will be expanding into new markets. “The current plan is to open two locations in the greater Portland, OR market as well as expand our presence in the state of Washington,” said Wurts.

Smart Management, Satisfied Customers Fruitful Yield (Elmhurst, IL) • Years in Business: 40+ • Store Count: 11 • Owner: Elwood Richard

Founded by Elwood Richard, known by most as the founder of NOW Foods, his venture began with a simple goal: to improve the health and well being of his customers by offering value in natural foods and supplements.

According to General Manager Dave Reczek, that philosophy remains at Fruitful Yield’s core. “Our philosophy has not changed and Fruitful Yield supports that original vision with our mission statement: To empower people to live healthier lives,” he said.

The average store is approximately 4,000 square feet with supplements and grocery corresponding to about a 50/50 split in terms of square footage, yet supplements account for 50-60 percent of Fruitful Yield’s sales. The chain also offers nutritional counseling and healthand- wellness screenings, and supports each community with product-specific and health-related lectures.

It should be no surprise that NOW Foods products are top sellers, but according to Category Manager Mary Hogan, the company carries a wide variety of strong brands.

“A partial list of our top sellers includes NOW Foods, Genesis, Barleans, Irwin Naturals, Carlson, Garden of Life and Lumina’s Cellfood,” said Hogan. “Their success is a combination of innovation, pricing and education.

When the vendors offer samples and staff trainings, it makes it easy for the staff to recommend their products.

Additionally, science-based testing along with all inclusive educational efforts translates into sales.” Fruitful Yield provides everyday discounting of nearly all products at either 20 or 35 percent, which has been critical to its success. “But it’s more than just discounting that makes us unique,” added Reczek. “We have an internal slogan: We read the labels so that our customers don’t have to.

Providing customers with quality products that they can have confidence in, both in terms of their efficacy and purity, has always been our approach.” Additionally, Fruitful Yield has spent a great deal of effort developing a state-ofthe- art point-of-sale system with the help of ECRS, which allows it to accumulate sales data and make operational decisions, like culling slow-moving SKUs, with confidence. It also allowed Fruitful Yield to roll out a customer rewards program.

“Consumers earn points on all of their purchases and receive cash rewards when they hit a specific sales threshold,” said Reczek. “To us, it’s just another way of thanking our customers and reminding them about the great deals that Fruitful Yield provides every time they shop with us.”

Green and Growing

Staff of Life Natural Foods (Santa Cruz, CA) • Years of Service: 42 • Store Count: 1 Owners: Richard Josephson, President; Gary Bascou,Vice president

Since first opening its doors in 1968, much has changed for Staff of Life Natural Foods. Starting as a natural foods bakery, the store quickly grew out of its initial location in just three years. Now, after 39 years of continued growth and expansion, the store plans on moving yet again into a newer, larger location across the street from its current location by the end of 2010.

The keys to the store’s growth over the years, according to Sue Whitney, advertising for Staff of Life, are its highquality, health-conscious products, which are sold at great prices. “They’re the best prices in town,” she said.

Currently, 30 percent of store’s sales are derived from its supplement/HABA section, 60 percent from grocery and 10 percent from deli. In addition to a successful, complete line of house brand vitamins and herbs, some of the store’s other fast movers include Country Life, New Chapter, Rainbow Light and Source Naturals. For Whitney, what separates these brands are quality, price and the close proximity of some of the manufacturers to the store.

As a way to acclimate its employees with some of the latest developments, both product and otherwise, Staff of Life pays its employees to attend multiple product trainings as well as workshops related to health and wellness. In addition to providing its customers needs through an educated staff, the store also employes an on-site acupuncturist.

As the store continues its expansion to the new location, it is making sure that the new building meets enough “green building points” to become the first Certified Green market in Santa Cruz. It will also be featuring a larger parking lot and an outdoor stage for lectures and demos, and will consolidate the store’s offerings into one location, so customers will no longer have to visit two different sites for supplements and groceries.

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