Natural and organic foods have become staples in the diets of many Americans. That was not the case four decades ago, when Outpost Natural Foods opened its doors in Milwaukee. The first location was on the northeast side, on Humboldt and Kane. While Outpost celebrates its 40th anniversary, it faces increased competition, and the economy is taking a toll on the local organic industry. WUWM’s LaToya Dennis reports.
It’s nine in the morning when I arrive at Outpost Natural Foods on State Street. There are only a few shoppers in the store. One of them is Linda Kutschenreuter. She started buying organic more than two decades ago.
“I had a daughter that had a lot of undiagnosed digestive issues and stuff. And our traditional medicine, let’s just put it that way, wasn’t really doing anything to help,” Kutschenreuter says.
Kutschenreuter says, 25 years later, her daughter is a happy, healthy adult. After realizing the benefits of an organic diet, Kutschenreuter says she could not go back to regular grocery store products. So, she’s been a regular shopper at Outpost. It was the first store in the area catering to those searching for more natural options. Spokeswoman Margaret Mittelstadt remembers people rolling their eyes at what we now consider everyday foods.
“Think of for instance granola bars. I mean everyone eats granola bars now. Granola was sort of a fringe food. You can go on and on with the foods that people kind of were thinking that’s a little strange,” Mittelstadt says.
Mittelstadt says people’s attitudes began to change for various reasons.
“People were concerned about pesticides on their foods, and who was growing them, and what are we feeding our children?” Mittelstadt says.
As attitudes evolved, Outpost saw opportunity for growth. In 2000, with its store on Capitol Drive doing well, Outpost opened a second location in Wauwatosa. Five years later, the owners hung out a sign in Bay View. But just as Outpost saw a growing market, so did others, according to General Manager Pam Mehnert. In 2006, national chains Whole Foods and Trader Joes moved into the area. Mehnert says the competition was a wakeup call.
“When Outpost first moved to Capitol Drive in 1990 we were a regional destination. We had people coming from all over southeastern Wisconsin to our store,” Mehnert says.
Mehnert says with other options available, Outpost had to figure out how to set itself apart. So it started getting more involved in community events, such as clothing drives, and recently began stocking more locally grown products.
“I think we can claim we have probably the best selection of local products from local vendors here in the city of Milwaukee,” Mehnert says.
While the bigger organic stores have been taking steps to attract customers, many regular supermarkets have been sprinkling in organic and natural foods. One is Metro Mart in downtown Milwaukee.
"It is the fastest growing segment in the grocery store next to wheat free and gluten free products,” King says.
That’s Vivian King with Roundy’s. It owns several large grocery stores including Pick ‘N Saves. She admits that while natural and organic foods are popular, sales have declined since the economy tanked. After all, organic products are more expensive.
“We’ve seen this with all of our products, because there have been so many layoffs across the country, consumers, customers are looking at their budgets much more tightly, with much more scrutiny,” King says.
But King says she’s not worried, because if history is any indicator, sales will pick up once the economy improves.
It’s unknown how many organic providers the local market will support over the long run, but at least one smaller vendor isn’t making it here. Joe Nolan and his wife own Good Harvest Market. Earlier this month, they announced they would close their location in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.
“After 15 months, we just decided that unfortunately, it was much less expensive to close and pay rent versus staying open,” Nolan says.
Nolan says he and his wife did a ton of market research before opening the store, and were convinced it would succeed. But sales never hit the expected mark. Nolan blames the economy.
Back at Outpost, things are looking pretty good financially. The company just recorded its highest profit in four years, thanks to several cost saving measures such as pay cuts for some workers.
The Organic Trade Association does not yet have the numbers for 2009, but expects sales to be a bit lower than during 2008. At the same time, it expects the number of people who occasionally buy organic foods to increase.
Share / Email
Print
Download
Email a Friend
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Stumble Upon
Digg
Newsvine
