Bi-Rite: Proximity to city parks inspires innovative options for shoppers

As part of Natural Foods Merchandiser’s 2023 Market Overview, we talked with five independent natural products retailers to provide a more colorful, nitty-gritty picture of the forces and trends influencing business so far this year. These retailers’ stories are being published online on consecutive Tuesdays: Kimberton Whole Foods, on Sept. 10; Earth Fare, Sept. 17; BiRite published on Sept. 24; St. Vrain Market is set to publish on Oct. 1; and Bristol Farms will publish on Oct. 8.

San Francisco’s acclaimed Bi-Rite Family of Businesses has been taking care of customers for more than 80 years. When it began, Bi-Rite was a slip of a shop, a classic corner store attached to a neighborhood. Today, the family-owned company, helmed by second-generation owner Sam Mogannam, includes three retail locations, a creamery, and a catering and commissary kitchen.

Innovation has defined Bi-Rite for generations, and it continues today. For instance, this plucky, entrepreneurial business was the first to turn organic milk from Straus Family Creamery, just 45 minutes north of San Francisco, into ice cream—a move that transformed Bi-Rite into even more of a destination for locals and tourists. Bi-Rite also launched 18 Reasons, a nonprofit cooking school and community hub in the middle of the city.

Bi-Rite’s three retail outposts continue to thrive. Beyond their innovative offerings, these stores also benefit from their proximity to city parks. Many customers swing through Bi-Rite in search of foods and beverages to take to the inviting grassy swaths nearby.

To cater to park-bound shoppers, the retailer has warmly embraced beverage innovations, according to Jamie Nessel, director of product and purchasing at Bi-Rite. The company, she explains, “always has an interest in what is hot and new in the beverages category, which continues to be fast moving and exciting.”

An open fig is displayed at Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco, California. Credit: Bi-Rite Market

The park effect also boosts interest in Bi-Rite’s healthy snacks, which people take along for picnics. Dried fruit, nuts and seeds are “showing some promise to be revived as a category,” Nessel says. “We’re seeing some great movement in brands that are farm-direct or sustainably sourced with unique flavor profiles.” Renewed interest in these snacks at Bi-Rite reflects the industrywide trend in nut, seed and trail mix sales, which are estimated to grow 3.9% in 2024—up from 3.3% in 2023.

Canned seafood also continues move off Bi-Rite’s shelves. “Even two summers after tinned fish was declared ‘hot girl food,’ the category continues to be exciting, and we are eyes-wide-open for new entrants,” Nessel says.

Bi-Rite’s success with park-friendly products, including ready-to-drink beverages and healthy on-the-go snacks, serves as a testament to its keen understanding of its customers. While not all natural products retailers abut city parks, each store enjoys a unique environment—in the middle of a bustling, trendy city block, for example, or in a suburban strip mall close to a big high school. Every location delivers its own quirks, some of which can propel sales in certain categories that aren’t necessarily trending industrywide—or vice versa. Retail triumph hinges in part on embracing the quirks!

As with other retailers, prepared food sales also surged for Bi-Rite during the past year and continue apace in 2024. But sales of pantry items such as rice, grains, beans and olive oil soared even higher last year. Industrywide, growth of some pantry foods including rice, grains (and potatoes) is expected to slow from 6% last year to a projected 4.4% this year. A bright spot is pasta, which registered 5.2% growth in 2023 and is expected to reach 5.7% in 2024.

“Our conjecture is that eating out continues to be an expensive endeavor and inflation continues to be a concern for our guests,” Nessel says, speaking of Bi-Rite customers specifically. “Cooking at home, while not at levels we saw in 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic, still has legs for growth.”

Despite its healthy sales, Bi-Rite still pays close attention to inflation. The company has been working hard “tuning our promotions program, trying to use that opportunity to make our pricing more accessible and provide some relief,” Nessel says.

Finally, as a grocer tied closely to neighborhoods, Bi-Rite continually focuses on “keeping our hospitality standards high, with the vision that we can create community through food,” Nessel says. “Caretaking that community is what will keep our business strong for the long haul.”