New small and organic supermarket concept from Supervalu offers food for thought for urban locations

This interior photo of the Sunflower Market doesn't show very much... Clarian Health Partners CEO Dan Evans and his wife, Marilyn, stopped by to browse the aisles at Sunflower Market in Broad Ripple earlier this week. - Susan Guyett / Indianapolis Star. I can't copy the one rendering I've found for the interior design of a forthcoming Sunflower Markets store in Columbus Ohio, adjacent to Ohio State University. So you'll have to look it up yourself.

Supervalu is the largest grocery wholesaler in the United States. They also own a number of supermarket chains around the country, including Shoppers Food Warehouse in the DC region, and Farm Fresh in Virginia (Richmond-Hampton Roads).

They have just introduced the pilot store of a new chain called Sunflower Markets (not to be confused with a similar kind of chain in western states named Sunflower Market--no "s") a small footprint natural foods and fresh and prepared foods grocery store in Indianapolis. (They also have another smaller store format, often franchised, for lower-income communities, called Save-A-Lot. There's one on South Broadway in Fells Point in Baltimore.)

The reason this is interesting is that the stores are about 16,000 square feet (or smaller) which is about 1/4 of the size of traditional "super" markets. As I have argued in many arenas, cities don't need the suburban supermarket behemoths, especially as people are buying more and more prepared foods, rather than cooking for themselves.

Among Sunflower Market’s features (from the OSU website):

• Produce departments that will offer the widest variety of organic produce available in the market. The department itself is being specially designed so that the produce remains at peak freshness. “We’ve got something really special planned for produce,” says Sturm. “There’s never been anything like it in Columbus.”
• A meat department that features only natural, hormone free meat. “There is a big demand for higher quality, all-natural meat, but prices are just too high. We plan on offering natural meats at prices that are much closer to conventional meat.”
• Sunflower will offer freshly baked organic breads, all-natural pastries, and an array of freshly prepared sandwiches, salads, and soups. “The baked goods are is mouth-watering. Plus, all the sandwiches and salads are made with organic greens and all the bread and pastries are made with organic flour.”

“We were looking for a very special neighborhood to build our first store,” said John Sturm, director of Sunflower Markets. “We believe South Campus Gateway is a perfect fit. It is uniquely positioned to serve the university, Short North, and downtown.” The Sunflower store will be located at 18 E. Ninth Ave., very close to the new Barnes & Noble-The Ohio State University Bookstore and will have convenient access to parking and public transportation.

Sunflower Market will emphasize low prices on natural and organic foods, especially produce, dairy, and meat. “Shoppers are asking for more wholesome and natural foods without sacrificing flavor or paying too much,” Sturm said. “Our goal is simply to offer great tasting and wholesome foods at prices that make them affordable to everyone.”

The DC region does have a couple small chains that are doing this already, Yes Organic Market and MOM-My Organic Market.



My predilection is to support the local companies over the big chains, because more money will stay in the region. Nonetheless, it does show that the large supermarket companies are looking at alternative formats for cities. For example, I think I mentioned the Harris-Teeter Express store on Providence Road in Charlotte, that Paul Johnson spied while traveling during the holidays. It's about 12,000 s.f. also. Although, Harris-Teeter's plans for DC stores under construction or planning right now (Kalorama, Capitol Hill) are traditional large format stores.

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