Articles by Ryan Sensenbrenner
An Independent Retailer’s Guide to Unreasonable Hospitality
How often do we find ourselves thinking, “Service just isn’t what it used to be,” as we go about our daily lives? As technology has advanced, the hospitality industry has made certain concessions. Human-to-human personalization has increasingly been replaced by personalization through technology. Yet the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, is often quoted as saying, ...
Building Voice of Customer Programs for Your Store
How well do you really know your customers? As an independent retailer, you probably greet familiar faces daily, but intuition only goes so far. You might think formal “market research” is something only big chains do, but even a single-store business can benefit tremendously from structured feedback. The surprising reality is that about 62 percent ...
Building a Product Launch Strategy for Your Store
New products should drive a significant portion of your store’s revenue, but success launching them is as much of an art as a science. It goes far beyond simply stocking your shelves. It requires a deliberate strategy, careful planning and consistent execution. Why Are New Products Important? New products are more than just additions to ...
Building a Public Relations Strategy for Your Store
Public relations (PR) plays a critical role in shaping your store’s reputation, increasing visibility and building trust with your community. While PR is often depicted in media as an industry of celebrity endorsements and press stunts, its core function is much simpler: creating and maintaining a positive image through earned media. In this article, we’ll ...
Boosting Foot Traffic: A Guide to Advertising for Independent Health Food Stores
As a small business owner, one of your primary duties is to develop strategies to get more people into your store. In fact, the two most important metrics that every retailer in America should track are store traffic and basket size. If you have enough people coming through the door and they are buying things, ...
Stay Ahead of the Game: How Change Can Propel Your Store’s Success
Change isn’t optional—it’s essential. As the natural products market evolves, so too must the way you do business. Standing still in the face of shifting consumer habits and growing competition isn’t a strategy—it’s a liability. If the idea of change feels daunting, you’re not alone. Behavioral economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky call this “loss ...
A Spark Everlasting: Celebrating an Industry Champion, Renee Southard
“To grow older doesn’t mean to grow old,” Renee Southard once told me with a knowing smile. That philosophy, rooted in her boundless energy and passion for life, guided everything she did—as a mother, a friend, a SENPA leader, and the owner of Organic Marketplace in Gastonia, NC. Renee was a force of nature, blending ...
From Goals to Growth: Creating Your Annual Marketing Blueprint
Running an independent health food store is no small feat. Between managing inventory, assisting customers, and staying competitive with big-box retailers and online giants, marketing often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. Yet, marketing is essential for growth and success. It forms the foundation of your business, not just in how you attract ...
Turning One-Time Shoppers Into Lifelong Customers: Strategies for Retention in Natural Products Retail
In today’s hyper-competitive retail environment, where online giants and big-box stores reign supreme, the real challenge for independent natural products retailers isn’t just attracting new customers—it’s keeping them. Customer retention, often an afterthought, should be front and center for any retailer who wants to build a sustainable, profitable business. We all know that acquiring a ...
Building Customer Value in Natural Products Retail
Historically, businesses drove growth by creating better products. Through a product-centric approach, huge companies were created—think of Henry Ford and the Model T. Today, the path to growth can take several different approaches. Thanks to digital technologies, it is possible to focus on individual interactions with your customers both in and out of retail. This ...
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