On May 16, 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control updated its COVID-19 guidance for wearing masks: “If you’ve been fully vaccinated: You can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. You can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by...
Any regular reader of this magazine knows our annual retailer survey, published each March, consistently reveals that the more fresh, perishables foods a store carries, the greater its sales. Prepared foods departments literally drive sales momentum in these full-service natural organic grocery stores. So, as the pandemic hit last year,...
The lesson from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is this: natural products are essential. As the pandemic broke out in early 2020, freaked-out consumers—both existing and those new to natural products—swarmed retailers in all eight U.S. channels we track, snapping up natural immune-support products, and driving robust sales increases in stores...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Part 1 of this story, 2020 Year In Review Plus What's New and What's Next for 2021, is available here. This coming March, WholeFoods Magazine will publish the results of its 43rd Annual Retailer Survey of U.S. independent natural organic retailers. We are crunching those numbers now, but wanted to...
Independent natural products retailers seem to intuitively know the daily work they do to help others get and stay well is more important than having a website. Yet a website is a necessary piece of advertising. What sort of website makes the most sense, and what sort should you avoid?...
In June, we published Part I of this series of retailer interviews about the response to the pandemic. Here, we follow up as of early October, and sincerely thank those independents who generously shared their thoughts and observations. Home Delivery Northern New England retailer: “Delivery logistics are challenging. We...
It may seem counterintuitive, but not once you think about it. Over the last several months I’ve been relieved to be in the natural foods business, and not the restaurant business. As most of you have experienced, the months-long surge of anxious shoppers seeking nutritional advice and wellness products that...
How hard is it to get your marketing message out—and into someone’s head? Very hard, and very expensive, as you know. Because normally, minds are closed—guarded, that is—as people focus single-mindedly on pursuing personal, private purposes, blocking out all interruptions and distractions. Under normal circumstances, for you to have any...
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated an existing trend: more grocery shopping online. Pre-COVID estimates suggest online grocery was about 4% of U.S. total grocery sales, with the pandemic propelling a 50% increase to about 6% through mid-2020. Even though online is growing, brick-and-mortar still accounts for 94% of all grocery dollars,...
At their May 19, 2020, meeting, the Brattleboro, Vermont Selectboard passed a resolution requiring face coverings to be worn by customers and employees in all retail establishments. It was part of an expanded discussion of COVID-19 and business issues. In hindsight, some independent natural products retailers believe they could have...
