"The industry is in flux right now and I think all of us are trying to find that secret sauce to try and unleash. We offer an alternative to a conventional grocery store Īs with any grocery store, says Savage - who won’t share details of the demographics the chain is targeting - you need to have a certain amount of potential traffic within a given radius and the right footprint, but Fresh Thyme has proved that if you build a natural and organic chain in the Midwest, the people will come.
But we’ve been amazed by how many people come into our stores and say thank goodness you are here we’ve been waiting for you.” “You think of these as big trends on the east and west coast and you have this view of the Midwest as a place where people like meat and potatoes and a good solid dinner. “You think about the Midwest, and you don’t think about natural and organic,” says Savage. We’ve been amazed by how many people come into our stores and say thank goodness you are here 30,000sq ft. Each store devotes a lot of space to fresh produce, salads, artisanal bakery, hormone-free meat and dairy, seafood, made-to-order sandwiches and other fresh-prepared products such as pizza, grab & go fresh deli items, bins of natural and organic bulk goods, specialty gluten-free and dairy-free products, and supplements.ĬEO: Chris Sherrell (former CEO of Sunflower Farmers Market, which merged with Sprouts in May 2012)Ĭoncept: ‘ We’ve combined the spirit of a weekend farmers market, and the convenience of a neighborhood store, with the nutritious offerings of a natural food marketplace to create a NEW and healthy shopping experience.’ Store numbers: 35 in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Nebraska
Fresh tyme trial#
Foodservice really is trial and error, so we have to win out customers over. “I admire the work Whole Foods is doing on its new 365 format, for example . There is potentially more profit to be made on fresh, he says, "but you’ve got to get the offer right, manage waste, and manage your labor. We’ve kind of flipped that whole model on its head." “So you’ve got fresh, foodservice and then bulk, which leaves you with not too much room for packaged goods, whereas you walk into a regular store and you see aisle after aisle of them.
When you walk in the door you’ll a disproportionate amount of space dedicated to produce, deli, bakery and foodservice, and bulk. But the core of our business here is fresh. “I grew up with Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, and Kellogg’s, so I’ve been on a learning curve. “My background is actually in the traditional grocery stores,” he says. The most successful smaller store formats, he argues, have dispensed with the idea that they can be-all-things-to-all-people, and are instead trying to focus on what they do best.Īnd in the case of Fresh Thyme Farmers Market – a fast-growing new retail chain originating in the Midwest– that is fresh (40-50% of sales from the 30,000 sq ft stores are from perishable products). People are time-starved, they want convenience, grab & go, but they also want to eat healthier “People are time-starved, they want convenience, grab & go, but they also want to eat healthier, so they are buying fresher foods more often, and you can’t pantry load this stuff.” How do I become a destination store for people that are heading home and looking for delicious food at a good price? He adds: “The industry is in flux right now and I think all of us are trying to find that secret sauce to try and unleash.
In other words, the stores are designed to cater to pantry re-stockers, not to busy shoppers trying to eat fresh, but lacking the time, energy or inclination to spend hours preparing meals. Emulsifiers, stabilizers, hydrocolloidsįor a start, Savage tells FoodNavigator-USA, many traditional grocery retailers still generate a large chunk of their revenues from low velocity packaged foods or high velocity 'center of store' categories experiencing declining volumes (canned soup, cereal, frozen meals), from stores that are too big and no longer meet shoppers' needs.Chocolate and confectionery ingredients.Carbohydrates and fibers (sugar, starches).Plant-based, alt proteins, precision fermentation.
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