Healthy food on the go is a retail concept that is steadily gaining popularity over the past year or two. However, a startup grocery retailer may be the first in the United States to marry healthy food and convenience in one location.
Green Zebra Grocery in Portland, Ore., will open its first store in the city this fall and launch two additional stores by the end of 2014. The company plans to open 20 stores by 2020 in Portland and the surrounding area. The 6,000-square-foot Green Zebra stores include most of the traditional supermarket departments, but on a much smaller scale with unique offerings like espresso and juice bars.
The retailer’s philosophy is to offer grab-and-go foods made fresh with healthy and local ingredients such as sustainable seafood, local produce and grass-fed beef. The small-format stores will feature all the staple products too.
“Eaters can get overwhelmed by too much choice, so we think of it as category curation,” said Lisa Sedlar, president and CEO of Green Zebra Grocery.
Plus, the stores are meant to fill a need in Portland neighborhoods that don’t have grocery stores nearby, following the goals of The Portland Plan. The city initiative aspires to provide neighborhoods with access to all the goods and services they would need within a 20-minute bike ride or walk from their home.
Click here to read the full story that ran in the July issue of SeaFood Business >
