Healthfood Store - Need Some Advice
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free skin care · Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:05 pm

We have a small healthfood store on the town square. It just moved there from an out of the way location. This little store is struggling and the owner and I are trying to come up with some ideas. It would be a shame if it closed 'cause we have no healthfood stores in the area for about 45 miles.

My question is basically, "What would you like to see or think would work in a smallish healthfood store in a small college town?"

Oh, yeah, she has a very nice area in the back for classes and a cute massage therapy room.

Any ideas?

Thanks so much.

Ari

free skin care · Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:37 pm

Hmmm...this is tough. We have the same problem in my town.

Maybe one day a week or month they could do a student discount and advertise in the college paper or do flyers.

Yoga classes and massage are a good idea if you can find someone to do it...

That's what comes off the top of my head. Good luck!

free skin care · Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:48 pm

We had a small healthfood store in town and it closed.=( Luckily I have access to Whole Foods and Wild Oats, but they are a bit further away...

Anyways, I wish I had some brilliant ideas of what would help this store do well, but unfortunately, I just don't know. What I can tell you, however, is what I used to buy from Whole Foods when I was a college student, and what my sister who is a college student buys: a lot of tea (all kinds--- red, green, herbal, you name it), beauty products (shampoo, conditioner, lip balm, etc, esp. brands like burt's bees, Alba, etc), soy and vegetarian products (vegetarian yogurt, tofurky, soy milk, etc), smoothies (Odwalla et al), beer and wine (I don't know if your small store has a liquor license, but WF has an incredible beer and wine selection that pulled the students in in droves--- I discovered one of my fave pinot noirs there^-^), etc etc.

Also, I agree with Bunny---student discounts and advertising in student newspapers with coupons, etc is a great idea. I hope some of this info is helpful, and I'll let you know if I think of anything else--- I hate the thought of natural food stores going under.

Edited: I thought of one more thing! If she does carry beauty products like lotion, etc, make sure she puts testers out. I can't tell you how many times I saw my friends in college test-drive some yummy lotion like Burt's Bees Baby Bee lotion or Kiss My Face Peaches and Cream lotion, and they just bought it on the spot.

free skin care · Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:56 pm

Marketing is really important, even in a small town. It really helps to come up with some good promotions and events and especially monthly discounts and sales. Maybe she can also send out a newsletter to the locals to keep them informed as to specials and news. She should definitely make use of that back room. If there are any therapists in town she could rent out the space or hold imformation lectures on natural health and offer the attendees a special discount for participating in the lecture. She could also get involved in community projects and maybe do some volunteer work to get her name out there some more. I wish her the best of luck! Smile

free skin care · Tue Jan 23, 2007 5:02 pm

This is great. I had some of these ideas which is why I mentioned we're a college town. But, a lot of what you're mentioning I hadn't thought of.

Thanks so much! And, keep 'em coming. Very Happy

Ari

free skin care · Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:14 pm

Definitely, she should utilize that back room of hers. The Wild Oats where I live holds "clinics" where local naturpaths volunteer (I think) their time for consultations. They also have other educational "clinics".

I also agree that student discounts would be effective. When I was a college student I would make my rounds at the local Whole Foods and most of the time I would just buy what I could find on sale. Discounts are always great. It also gets the customer into the store and exposed to other items they might buy. Perhaps people in your town don't visit the store simply because they don't know what's there so advertising is definitely a good idea.

She might also consider doing a small bistro/deli type thing. She could at least make a lot of money serving drinks (like Tea, coffee, speciality all natural juices etc). If it's a college town I would think that students might want to come by there to study or meet their friends.

I agree with Liz that having testers for bath and beauty items is a very good idea. Being able to test something first makes a huge difference!

free skin care · Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:24 am

I don't know about you, but I usually order most of my groceries online and have them delivered at my door! I don't have a car so shopping is a drag, but I also know that a lot of busy families love to do it that way.

Student discount is a great idea! Fresh bio-food (bread, cheese, vegetables/fruit, meat), skincare, tea/coffe etc.

free skin care · Wed Jan 24, 2007 3:32 pm

Study snacks, in small packages similar to vending machine stuff, but health-enhancing. In college, I was always eating horrible junk from the machine. I'm lucky to still be alive. Smile

free skin care · Wed Jan 24, 2007 5:58 pm

MAC8 wrote:

... I'm lucky to still be alive. Smile

OMG! I totally hear you on that!

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