Market Saturation

I was fascinated by two news stories that came out this week related to natural groceery stores.  The first was the announcement that Whole Foods is buying its smaller competitor Wild Oats.  (reg.req. Member ID:  Cookin; Password:  intheCuse)  This is not the first instance of Whole Foods gobbling up other stores, can we say Bread and Circus?  But as Whole Foods continues to expand and wrestles with slowed (stock) market expectations, this expansion seems like their most logical course. 

When I lived in Morristown, NJ I remember being thrilled when a Wild Oats store opened in Madison--the next town over.  But the store didn't work for me.  Things were constantly being rearranged and items were hard to find in stock on a regular basis.  So I took to driving thirty minutes in a different direction to shop at Whole Foods in Montclair or Millburn.  It really was worth the drive because Whole Foods was offering not just a better shopping experience but consistent stock.  The same is true for my experience of the Wild Oats in Berkeley--I'd practically drive right by it to get to Whole Foods (well, I really passed it to get to the Berkeley Bowl where I did most of our shopping that filled out our CSA and farmers' market purchases). 

Well it will be interesting to see what impact this has on the natural foods grocery business.  Whole Foods will need to answer the question of whether bigger really is better.  With this buyout, Whole Foods will increase to just over 300 stores nationally.

Speaking of Berkeley...I was interested to hear of the flack a group of folks are getting in their efforts to start a food co-op there.  Again, I was always fascinated by the fact that despite all of the progressive food politics to be found there, Berkeley had no food co-op.  The last one had closed shop decades before I lived there in the mid 1990s and early 2000s.   So a number of former Brooklynites who used to belong to the 12,000 member strong Park Slope Food Co-op want to set up a similiar shop to make good, sustainable food accessible and affordable to everyone. 

But naysayers argue that the market is saturated and cite the existence of Whole Foods, Wild Oats, the Berkeley Bowl, Monterey Market, three Farmers' Markets, Berkeley Natural Grocery and several Andronicos (an upscale supermarket) in addition to Safeways and a nearby Trader Joe's as a sign that there isn't any more room.  But The Cooperative Grcoery, aka The CoG, with several hundred members on board already wants to be an alternative. 

I was able to visit the Park Slope Food Co-op a few months ago with a friend who is a member (the only way you can get in the store is to be a member or be accompanied by one) and I was astounded at how low many of the prices were.  Every member of the Park Slope Co-op must work a shift so their set up is very different from our own Syracuse Real Food Co-op and, indeed, most other co-ops nationally.   But like other co-ops, The CoG isn't interested in being just a grocery store--they're interested in being a community.  And that, as members of co-ops know, is a big difference.

While presenting a lower priced alternative to healthy food is always a good thing, many say that the money to start a new store would be better put to use to fund the People's Grocery in West Oakland--a neighborhood where groceries can be purchased in liquor stores and fresh produce is hard to find.  It will be interesting to see if The CoG's efforts come together or not.  I've always suspected that there was a reason there were no food co-ops in Berkeley but couldn't figure out what it was.

As I've said before, when we moved from Berkeley/Oakland to Syracuse our food bill grew greatly.  Though we could never own a house in the Bay Area (not without a miracle donation of some kind, anyway) we could certainly afford to eat very well.  So if The CoG is going to work they may want to push the community over affordability angle.

Meanwhile...back here in Syracuse, we have wholly different market issues.  I realize we are a much smaller city/metropolitan area/region than Berkeley but c'mon, I can't be the only person who wants the following:

• A larger Syracuse Real Food Co-op
• a Finger Lakes Wine Tasting Room in Armory Square
• an artisanal bakery/cafe near the Syracuse University campus
• a gourmet cheese shop featuring local and regional cheeses as well as imports
• an organic farmers' market in the Westcott neighborhood

Now, what will it take to make it happen? 

Comments

[Keith]

Why don't you open these places yourself?

[Philip]

Great wish list. The only local bread I've found that's yummy is Pasta's Daily bread
http://www.pastabilities.com/pasta/bakery.html
but it's only one kind, so if you're in the mood for whole grain or pumpernickel, you're out of luck. The cheese shop and Farmer's Market near Westcott are great ideas. The only problem I see as a newbie and transient Syracuse citizen (grad student) is that most people live in the 'burbs around here and don't like driving into the city on the weekends. I'm not sure if there's enough of a population in town to sustain all of these shops. I don't see the huge influx of urban people into Syracuse like I see in other cities. It's unfortunate, but that seems to be the case. At least from my limited perspective.

[Jennifer]

Keith, let me tell you, if I could find an investor I'd be all over the wine tasting room idea or the bakery.

Phillip, I think you're right about the downtown density issue but I think it is changing. I want to believe that the right kind of place will draw folks in, though. With downtown at zero residential vacancy I think the possibilities for a successful place are great.

[bibliochef]

Maybe Dustin Cutler, who opened a great bakery here in Geneva a while back -- and is interviewed on my blog -- could expandto an artisanal bakery in Syracuse? He's normal bread in Geneva.

[Wayne Chase]

That would be great if Dustin opened a bakery in Syracuse. We went to business school together at SU and I would gladly help him out with a business plan and some financing. (Maybe I could get a lifetime supply of fresh bread in exchange.)

I don't think a farmer's market in the Wescott area is necessary when we have a great farmer's market at the transportation station (bus/train) near Carousel Mall. I've lived in a bunch of cities in NY and CT and Syracuse's farmers market beats them hands down. My friends from new england were jealous of it when I treated them to a tour of the market and some Loatian take-out (mmm....pad thai) with fresh donuts for dessert.

[Jennifer BB]

Hi Bilbiochef and Wayne--I gotta find out more about this Dustin's--sounds wonderful. And Wayne, the desire for a market at Westcott is more about trying to get a dedicated organic market closer to campus--but you're right, the Regional Market has its charms and I can't wait to get there tomorrow (couldn't always say that but it's true). Thanks for posting Wayne, do come back often.