Natural & Specialty Foods Retail Industry Competitors

Some people may not like to eat Atomic Spears, but these guys think it is all A Matter of Taste. The company sells specialty food products, such as Atomic Spears (pickles) and Atomic Shrooms (mushrooms), Glow Babies (pickled carrots), P.B. Loco (flavored peanut butter), and cheddar beer soup....

Bristol Farms operates about 15 upscale specialty supermarkets in California's Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties, as well as one store in San Francisco. Smaller than traditional supermarkets (stores average about 14,000 square feet), more than two-thirds of the company's sales come from fresh products....

The destination for shoppers looking for organic milk, soy, and antibiotic-free poultry is Earth Fare, naturally. The regional organic and natural foods supermarket chain operates about a dozen stores in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee. Its stores are smaller (the largest is 28,000 sq....

Euphoria Chocolate Company makes those little sweets that bring you joy. It prepares its chocolate candy on location at several retail stores and a factory outlet store in Eugene, Oregon. Well known for its wide variety of truffles (available in Grand Marnier, hazelnut, raspberry, and toasted almond flavors, to name a few), the company also offers its chocolates to non-locals through its Web site....

What's good for the customer is good for GNC Corporation (formerly General Nutrition Centers). With more than 6,150 company-owned and franchised outlets in all 50 US states and Canada and franchised stores in some 50 foreign markets, GNC is the leading nutritional-supplements retail chain devoted solely to items such as vitamins and dietary products....

Health nuts in England can buy nuts, and much more, at the 300 stores operated by health foods retailer Julian Graves. The company is the UK's largest seller of nuts, seeds, savory snacks, confections, baking ingredients, health supplements, and kitchenware....

It's going to be tough -- if not impossible -- to get a hormone laden, genetically altered food item from Planet Organic Health (POH). The company operates about 60-plus natural food supermarkets and vitamin stores in Canada, as well as Trophic Canada, a leading manufacturer and distributor of supplements and herbal remedies....

Citarella caters to an urban clientele that possesses discerning taste buds. The company operates about half a dozen gourmet supermarkets in New York City and its satellite, the Hamptons. The upscale chain also offers catering and online ordering and home delivery to select ZIP codes....

You could go to Manhattan's tony SoHo neighborhood for a taste of Dean & DeLuca, but increasingly, you don't have to. The purveyor of pricey gourmet foods, wines, and high-end kitchenware operates about 15 specialty markets and cafes in select US cities and is growing rapidly in Japan....

Grace quite easily makes the final cut in the "Mother of the Year" contest. Grace's Marketplace offers gourmet foods through its storefront in the Upper East End of New York City and also operates Italian eatery, Grace's Trattoria, on the same city block....

Great Harvest Franchising (dba Great Harvest Bread Company) helps entrepreneurs not only bake bread but earn it. The company franchises its name and baking techniques to 200-plus bakeries in nearly 40 US states. In exchange for sending 7% of their sales to Great Harvest, owners receive bread recipes, baking techniques, and advice about accounting and store design....

Before your relationship goes to hell in a gift basket, try delighting your honey with a ham from Hickory Farms. The gift-food company sells high-end beef and cheese, chocolates, desserts, fresh fruits and nuts, seafood, and other delectables. Prices range from about $10 to more than $200....

PCC Natural Markets operates eight organic and natural food stores in Washington. More than 90% of the produce sold by the coop is certified organic, according to USDA rules. It also offers cooking classes featuring guest chefs, natural foods, exotic dishes, and lessons for children....

This company is coasting along on its wave of success and, consequently, is sprouting up all over the place. Sprouts Farmers Market, a natural foods retailer, operates more than two dozen smallish storefronts in Arizona, California, Texas, and Colorado. In addition to organic foods including local produce, the specialty retailer sells baked goods,
all natural meats and seafood, imported cheeses, deli meats, bulk foods, and vitamins and supplements....

Sutton Place Group (dba Balducci's) has the right ingredients to attract hungry gourmands. The company operates about 10 popular specialty food stores under the Balducci's name in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and Virginia. The markets offer such fare as fresh pasta, locally grown vegetables, and imported cheeses....

Taste buds get the Tupperware treatment at Tastefully Simple. The company promotes its line of gourmet soups, dips, desserts, and convenience foods through in-home parties where attendees can taste prior to buying. Its standard food items range in price from $4.99 for beer bread mix to $41.99 for a large gift pack....

When it comes to grocery chains, Trader Joe's isn't your average Joe. With about 300 stores in nearly 25 states, the company offers upscale grocery fare such as health foods, organic produce, and nutritional supplements. To keep costs down, its stores have no service departments and average about 10,000 sq....

With food and other items that are free of pesticides, preservatives, sweeteners, and cruelty, Whole Foods Market knows more about guiltless eating and shopping than most retailers. The world's #1 natural foods chain by far -- now that it has acquired its main rival Wild Oats Markets -- the company operates some 275 stores in the US, Canada, and the UK....

New York epicureans in search of bagels, coffee, smoked salmon, fine cheeses, and expensive kitchen gadgets go straight to specialty food purveyor Zabar's. The company operates the famous Zabar's store at 80th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a catalog, and a Web site for online shopping....