Help! Opening store...now we need a name! (pg. 2)

[mamabird]

I am looking for any information on where to buy health food, organics, gluten free foods, or anything else that would appeal to "granola-kruncher" customers (please don't take offense...I don't mean that in a derogatory way). I am opening a store that will feature local items as well as hard to find - dietary compromised -
"can't get at Kroger or Wal-Mart" stuff. I have several catalogs and leads, but would like to have as many options as possible to consider buying from. Also...if you buy these type of things, what are some of your favorites that would be 'must haves' in a new store? Advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[trilyn]

If you're going to offer organic soaps and whatnot-check out:

http://woodspritesoap.com/

They're stuff is so awesome!! I highly recommend them!

 

[WriterofWords]

Good luck to you, wish you were closer to me, I love to crunch my granola lol,, so does my son!

 

[ChooksChick]

OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooHHHHhhhhh!!

Gluten-free here!!

You must carry Food for Life breads, and Pamela's products. You have to carry Mary's gone Crackers crackers, too!

Kinnikinnick brand frozen bread products are the absolute best, because they make chocolate doughnuts, pizza crusts, bagels, etc. It is crucial, because GF people want to be able to just go get a loaf of bread or a dozen doughnuts, too- it's difficult to have to plan for a brownie craving...I grew up GF, but love my convenience foods.

Nutty nuggets are a good cereal to have, too.

I'm not sure about suppliers, but our local Mercantile is huge and one of the most successful around, and the people there may be able to help:

http://www.communitymercantile.com/

I wish you the best of luck!

 

[mamagardener]

my family likes morningstar and boca brands.

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Go on line to San Francisco Herbs www.sfherb.com Great products and prices, I buy from them all the time...they have a minimum something like $30 but I always spend more that that. Great place to get Cayenne Pepper as a de-wormer ...Three something a pound You could always re package their products. Good luck!!

 

[NRacine]

I worked at a store like this years ago and can't remember the supplier we used. But I can remember the big selling items.

You must carry the best mayo in the world: Mrs. Clarks. I can only find it at one store and we make a special trip for it. Another idea is sulfite-free wine if you have a license to sell it. Organic shade-grown fair trade coffee is a good seller. Asian specialty items are good if there's no asian grocery around (miso, nori, soba, etc)

 

[mamabird]

Thanks for all the tips so far. The links are a big help! Don't mean to be a pain, but surely there are some others out there that have some suggestions....

 

[Rosalind]

Local produce? If you don't have any nearby farmers' markets. Or if they close in winter, see if you can find someone who grows in hoop houses or some such to supply local veggies through the winter.

Really good bread yeast. Us granola fiends like to bake our own bread, and the regular Fleischmann's and Red Star, well, frankly it tastes "off" half the time--like the culture is contaminated. Best baking yeast I ever used was Hodgson Mill. I used to get it from the crunchy granola store near my old apartment, but since moving some years ago I can't find it again, and the local Whole Paycheck refuses to stock it, they only have the crummy kind. I have to order online.

Hey, you know what else would be cool? Cheesemaking cultures & rennet. I have to buy those online, and the shipping is kinda spendy compared to how much the culture itself costs; in order to justify paying shipping, I have to buy a bunch of other stuff, and you know, there's a real upper limit on how many molds and waxes and things I can use. It'd be way simpler to think, "Hmm, this month maybe I'll try Emmenthal," grab a packet of bacteria and be on my way.

If it were my crunchy granola store, I would also include recipe sheets for what's in season and cooking workshops to demo the recipes and teach things like breadmaking without a machine, cheesemaking, etc. But that's just me.

 

[CityChicker]

I was a manager for a natural foods/supplement chain for a few years. Almost all of our ordering was done through large wholesale distributors. The wholesalers that we used all carried like 500 brands and delivered once or twice weekly with their own trucks.

I remember one of the distributors was called Rainbow Natural Foods. Another one was called Tree of Life. I can't remember the others. Other things, like produce and baked goods, we purchased locally. Several of the supplement brands were purchased direct from the vendors.

Anyway, if I were you- I would try to work for awhile for someone else in order to meet the sales reps for these companies and gain some insight into the business. It would likely be invaluable to you.