Natural and organic retailers always have been good about connecting with their core audience. “Naturally focused retailers are well positioned to be able to respond to their shoppers’ needs for proactive health and wellness products, particularly with their focus on identifying and supporting small, local and unique brands,” explains Jeff Crumpton, senior manager of retail reporting at Chicago-based SPINS LLC. This has helped natural and organic retailers sustain growth, at least for the most part.
Yet, 2020 was a bit of a mixed bag for the natural and organic retail channel. At the start of the year, Lucky’s Market, Niwot, Colo., filed for bankruptcy and started reducing its store count a few weeks after Kroger Co., its Cincinnati-based majority owner, divested its shares of the natural and organic retailer. Just days after the Lucky’s Market announcement, Asheville, N.C.-based Earth Fare announced it was going out of business. Some market analysts cautioned that the days of natural and organic retailers could be numbered because larger grocery chains offer a growing variety of natural and organic products also, often at a lower price point.