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Natural Grocers history
Natural Grocers company history timeline
Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers was founded in the year 1955.
The first store of the company was opened in Colorado, USA, in the year 1963.
In 1963, the Iselys converted a cottage-style house into their new store, inspiring the name change from “The Builder’s Foundation” to “Vitamin Cottage.”
The second Vitamin Cottage opened in 1974 in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood.
Sometimes a little healthy sibling rivalry is a good thing: In 1989, the first produce rack was added to the Mission Trace store in Colorado.
We’ve been pre-selling turkeys before Thanksgiving since 1989, offering an alternative to conventionally raised turkeys.
We’ve always been active in promoting and protecting the integrity of the organic label, even though the National Organic Program was not established under the United States Department of Agriculture until 1990.
Heather and Margaret lead a grassroots letter writing campaign to achieve passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) which provided the legal framework that regulates the natural products industry today.
For a very short time in 1995 the company was called “Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Emporium.”
Margaret Isely had passed away in the year 1997 and therefore her children had taken over the business.
In 1999, the second generation Iselys officially purchased the company from Margaret and Phillip.
She was inducted into the Natural Products Industry Hall of Legends in 2015.
Natural Grocers Brand Products, our own household label launched in 2018.
Between then and now (2020), we’ve opened more than 150 Natural Grocers.
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Natural Grocers competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole Foods Market | 1978 | $16.0B | 91,000 | 1,590 |
| Sprouts Farmers Market | 2002 | $7.7B | 35,000 | 893 |
| BJ's Wholesale Club | 1984 | $20.5B | 25,001 | 732 |
| The Fresh Market | 1982 | $1.8B | 13,000 | - |
| Kroger | 1883 | $147.1B | 465,000 | 11,720 |
| United Natural Foods | 1976 | $31.0B | 19,000 | 293 |
| Big Lots | 1967 | $4.7B | 22,900 | - |
| Rite Aid | 1962 | $24.1B | 50,000 | 10 |
| Hy-Vee | 1930 | $12.0B | 88,000 | 1,766 |
| Walmart | 1962 | $681.0B | 2,300,000 | 50,939 |
Natural Grocers history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Natural Grocers, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Natural Grocers. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Natural Grocers. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Natural Grocers. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Natural Grocers and its employees or that of Zippia.
Natural Grocers may also be known as or be related to NATURAL GROCERS BY VITAMIN COTTAGE INC., Natural Grocers, Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage, Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage, Inc., Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. and Vitamin Cottage Inc.