While the worldwide economic crisis has caused sales in some organic sectors to slow, a few retail outlets have not let the mood dampen expansion plans.
Colorado company Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, which has 27 stores in the US, will open two more in Texas in coming months and Planet Organic, the UK’s largest retailer of organic food and products, has already branched out in two more areas of London.
Natural Grocers, which sells 100 percent organic produce as well as supplements and speciality items, is due to open its latest store in Amarillo in November and another is slated for Austin early next year, bringing the total in the Lone Star State to three.
The chain’s co-president, Kemper Isely, told the Austin Business Journal that he is not worried about the prospect of moving into the heartland of organic and natural foods leader Whole Foods Market, describing their relationship as “synergistic”.
And if the store does well, Natural Grocers will consider opening another two in the city. Isely said the company is also looking at four more outlets in northern Texas, as well as locations in Utah, Wyoming, Arizona and Oklahoma.
Planet Organic, the UK’s first fully certified organic supermarket, now has five outlets in London, after opening a branch in Muswell Hill in August and another in Islington in September, and hopes to have 13 stores within a few years.
The company, which sells all natural, mostly-organic foods and guarantees products free of additives, hydrogenated fats and genetically modified organisms, launched in 1995 in fashionable Notting Hill. It has since won many awards, including several from the well-regarded Soil Association.
“We think long and hard about what we sell; how it has been grown and how far it has travelled. Taking care of these things helps us all to take better care of ourselves, our families and our environment,” says founder Renee Elliott.
Of Planet Organic’s 9000 products more than half are food items, and while the company states its aim is to be wholly organic some food items are still not available organically. In these instances, Planet Organic stores stock natural alternatives which meet their strict product standards and phase them out as organic becomes available. Its 100 percent organic categories include fruit and vegetables, British cheese, and bakery items.
Customers can also eat at the in-store bistro, or break their shopping expedition with an organic tea or coffee, or fresh juice or smoothie.
