How Erewhon Has Become the Stamp of Approval for CPG Startups

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This article originally appeared in Presence Marketing’s February 2022 Industry Newsletter

By Steve Hoffman

Founded in 1966 in Boston, MA by Michio and Aveline Kushi, Japanese immigrants and pioneers of the macrobiotic movement, Erewhon Market eventually made its way out west and has been expanding in the Los Angeles area under its current owners, husband and wife team Tony and Josephine Antoci, who took over the business in 2011.

Since then, the retailer has expanded to seven stores. It received investment capital in 2019 from New York-based Stripes Group, and the stores have become known as the trendy place to shop for natural and organic products, and to hang out. A fanbase of young consumers, health and wellness influencers and Hollywood celebrities from Gwyneth Paltrow to members of the Kardashian-Jenner family have been seen shopping at Erewhon.

As a result of its growing popularity and accessibility, young food and beverage brands are flocking to Erewhon in hopes of being discovered. “It’s a good-sized grocery chain to supply without being overwhelmed, Mayssa Chehata, founder and CEO of Behave candy told Modern Retail.

Jennifer Ross, co-founder of beverage brand Swoon told Modern Retailer that Erewhon was the company’s “retail north star.” As a smaller CPG brand, Ross said it can be hard to work with big retailers like Whole Foods and Sprouts from the very beginning because of capacity constraints. “With Erewhon, you can literally FedEx them small batches of inventory,” she said.

DTC and CPG brand consultant Kendall Dickieson told Modern Retailer that for emerging companies, it can take years to get on Erewhon’s shelves. But it can be worth it, she noted. “And if it’s your first location, it usually paves the way for the rest of your wholesale trajectory,” she said. “As someone who’s always looking for new trends, Erewhon is the holy land,” Dickieson added. “If you’re on the shelf, it means you’ve been vetted by the top of the top when it comes to health grocers.”

Erewhon’s status as a health food discovery hub has been a source of free promo for brands among not only consumers and influencers, but other retail buyers. “It’s got a trickle-down effect among other buyers and brand influencers,” said Chehata of Behave. She said the brand saw a big uptick in organic customer and influencer posts during its first week on Erewhon’s shelves. In addition, Chehata credited the brand’s presence in Erewhon in securing other partnerships. “I can’t say we got further interest solely because of Erewhon,” she told Modern Retailer. “But every buyer conversation since has had a sense of the ‘Erewhon stamp of approval.’”