My husband and I are considering retirement from the military after 24 years and would like to open a small business. Ideally, we would like to move to the Denver area. Our area of expertise for a small business is a natural foods store. Initially, this looks like a good plan. We have a friend in the Virginia area that has already used the business model that we are interested in. He has developed an extensive online ordering system in conjunction with the store. He opened about 5 years ago and was self-sustaining within 3 months. He has done well even through the latest economic turbulence. We feel that this natural foods store model is very resilient and fits an unusual niche (because of the online ordering system) and we believe that it can succeed even in a town that has a Whole Foods, because it is quite different in concept. The concern for us is can it succeed in a town with 8 Whole Foods, three other good size natural food stores and a good representation of organics at many of the mainstream grocery stores. Is the market truly saturated or highly aware of healthy eating which along with the different business model would spell success?

Hi,
I know an unfulfilled niche in my area are allergen free foods. They go great with health food product line ups. My wife is allergic to soy and chicken, so it is difficult to find food for her. Fresh and whole foods are usually the best bet for us.

Joe
Achieve Display
http://www.achievedisplay.com
Retail Store Fixtures
Food Service Equipment

I think your model can survive if you can provide products the other places do not. I agree with the previous poster about the allergen free foods. There are many people who are allergic to gluten. Yet, there are not very many options for foods.

There are also many different skin care items. You could carry products by smaller companies such as Garden of Wisdom rather than the larger companies such as MyChelle.

Good luck!
~~~~~~

http://pagebuzz.com - Small Business Website Hosting. $19.99 per month, no up sells, no contracts, no surprises. Shopping cart, photo galleries, drag and drop editors, graphics, specialized programming for car dealers, real estate agents, and others.

Before I begin my reply, I would like to thank you and your husband for your service to our country.

Since I am in the Denver area, I can tell you that the market is pretty well saturated with larger natural foods stores. However, it doesn't mean a smaller, service oriented store you are proposing wouldn't do well. Online ordering could be the market niche that will allow you to offer convenience and to expand outside of your local market, as well. Having a successful model to work from is also a bonus when considering a start-up.

I would recommend matching your location with the demographic that is most receptive to natural foods. Off the top of my head, I can think of an area south of Denver where a large anchor store is going to be built. It is going to double traffic to the immediate area and might be a good location to consider.

If I can be of assistance in gathering information for you, please don't hesitate to call.


Best Regards,

Ehren Koelsch
Mira, Inc.
303-242-8930
www.miraretail.com

My thanks to those that have taken the time to respond to my post. The health food store that I currently work in in Virginia does do what the previous posts mention. They have devoted approximately 25% of their 2000 sf to gluten free foods. Another portion of the store is a large cold room for lots of fresh produce; so I would be following that model. In addition to that the online system provides our customers with access to EVERYTHING that our distributors stock. In the case of the Virginia store that is over 50,000 items, which compensates for the smaller size of the store. The web site is already functioning in Virginia, which makes me wonder if there is a way to "test market" the idea electronically in the Denver area to get some feedback from the population as to whether this would be a welcome addition to their health care shopping. Thank you.

Could you offer online shopping with delivery in the Denver area? Don't know if Whole Foods delivers, but if not, you'd have a leg up!

Gwen