What Are Natural Grocers and How Do They Compare to Conventional Supermarkets?
Natural Grocers is a chain of stores focused on selling products with stricter ingredient and sourcing standards than you'll typically find in conventional supermarkets. But before deciding whether shopping there fits your needs and budget, it helps to understand what "natural" actually means in grocery retail, how Natural Grocers operates, and where the real differences—and trade-offs—lie.
What Natural Grocers Actually Is
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is a regional grocery chain headquartered in Colorado that operates stores primarily across the western and central United States. The chain emphasizes products it considers "naturally better," with a focus on items that are:
- Free from artificial preservatives, flavors, and colors
- Non-GMO (or certified non-GMO Project Verified)
- Minimally processed
- Often organic
- Made without synthetic pesticides or herbicides (where applicable)
The store carries conventional grocery categories—produce, meat, dairy, pantry staples, prepared foods—but with a curated selection emphasizing these standards rather than the broadest possible range of products.
This is fundamentally different from a conventional grocery chain, which prioritizes shelf space efficiency and broad consumer choice over ingredient sourcing restrictions. Both models work; they serve different shopping philosophies and priorities.
How Natural Grocers' Standards Work
Natural Grocers uses a vendor screening and approval system rather than government certification. The chain evaluates products against its own criteria before allowing them on shelves. This means:
What's included: Products that meet Natural Grocers' standards for ingredients, processing, and sourcing transparency. The store prominently labels items that are organic, non-GMO certified, or meet other certifications.
What's excluded: Products containing artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, synthetic preservatives (like BHA, BHT, or TBHQ), hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, and certain other ingredients the chain deems unnecessary or problematic.
What's inconsistent: "Natural" is not a federally regulated term for most food products. The FDA does not have a legal definition of "natural," so different retailers define it differently. Natural Grocers' definition is stricter than most chains but is still their own standard, not a universal one.
This curation model means you won't find every product you might at a conventional supermarket. If you have strong brand loyalty or prefer specific mainstream products, you may not find them all in one place.
Key Differences Between Natural Grocers and Standard Supermarkets
| Factor | Natural Grocers | Conventional Supermarket |
|---|---|---|
| Product curation | Restricted to specific standards | Broad product range, minimal restrictions |
| Ingredient focus | Emphasizes whole foods, fewer additives | Wide range including heavily processed items |
| Organic availability | High proportion of organic options | Limited organic selection, typically in dedicated section |
| Price range | Generally higher average prices | Lower average prices, wider price variation |
| Labeling transparency | Prominent certification labels, dietary info | Standard labeling; certifications less emphasized |
| Selection depth | Narrower (fewer brands per category) | Much broader (many brands and options) |
| Store size & format | Smaller stores, streamlined layout | Large supermarkets with extensive sections |
Variables That Affect Your Experience
Whether Natural Grocers is useful for you depends on several personal factors:
Your Shopping Priorities
If you prioritize avoiding specific ingredients (artificial preservatives, certain dyes, or GMOs), Natural Grocers' curation saves you label-reading time. If you prioritize lowest price or widest selection, a conventional supermarket may serve you better.
Your Dietary Needs or Preferences
Shoppers following specific diets—paleo, organic-only, whole-food plant-based, or those with multiple food sensitivities—often find Natural Grocers' inventory more aligned with their needs. Shoppers with tight budgets or those who don't prioritize organic or non-GMO may find the tradeoff between price and standards less appealing.
Your Location and Store Access
Natural Grocers operates in select regions. If you don't live near one, the question is moot. If you do, proximity and convenience matter: will visiting an additional store disrupt your shopping routine, or does it fit naturally into your errands?
Your Budget Flexibility
Natural Grocers' products typically cost more than equivalent items at conventional chains. The premium varies by product category—sometimes 20–50% higher—depending on the item and whether it's on sale or part of the store's regular sales rotation. Your ability to absorb higher grocery costs influences whether shopping there is realistic.
Your Ingredient Tolerance
Not everyone needs to avoid artificial additives. If you have no sensitivities to common preservatives or sweeteners and don't have philosophical concerns about GMOs or pesticide use, the premium prices at Natural Grocers may not deliver corresponding value for you.
What You Should Know About "Natural" Standards
The term "natural" in grocery retail doesn't have a universal definition and can be misleading. Here's what matters:
Organic certification is federally regulated by the USDA. Products labeled "organic" meet specific production standards verified by third-party auditors. Natural Grocers carries many organic items, but not everything in the store is organic.
Non-GMO Project Verified is a third-party certification independent of the store. It verifies that products don't contain genetically modified organisms. Natural Grocers emphasizes this, but again, not every product carries this label.
"Natural" on a label (without additional certification) is largely unregulated. Different stores and brands define it differently. At Natural Grocers, "natural" implies the store's own standards, but you should still read ingredient lists.
"No artificial" claims vary. Natural Grocers excludes specific synthetic additives, but "no artificial flavors" doesn't mean flavoring agents don't exist—it means they're derived from natural sources rather than synthetic ones. The distinction matters if you're concerned about additives broadly versus specifically synthetic ones.
Understanding these distinctions helps you evaluate whether Natural Grocers' curation actually addresses your own concerns, rather than assuming everything there is inherently safer or better.
Price and Value Considerations
Natural Grocers generally operates at a price premium compared to conventional chains. This reflects several realities:
- Higher-sourced ingredients (organic, non-GMO verified, etc.) often cost more to produce and verify
- Smaller inventory footprint means less buying power than mega-chains
- Stricter sourcing criteria limit supplier options and economies of scale
- Store format emphasizes education and customer service, with corresponding labor costs
That said, Natural Grocers uses sales, bulk pricing, and loyalty programs to manage costs. Prices vary by location and season. Some items cost only slightly more than at conventional stores; others are noticeably higher.
Your actual spending depends on:
- How much of your shopping you do there versus other stores
- Whether you buy sale items and take advantage of bulk discounts
- Which categories matter most to you (produce, dairy, meat, pantry items each have different markup patterns)
- Whether the store's sales align with what you'd buy anyway
Who Natural Grocers Works Best For
Natural Grocers serves certain shopping profiles well:
- People who want to avoid specific ingredients and value the time savings of curated selection
- Those with food sensitivities who need ingredient transparency and limited-additive options
- Shoppers who prioritize organic or non-GMO and want high availability of these options
- People who value smaller, easier-to-navigate stores over large supermarkets
- Those willing to pay a premium for ingredient sourcing standards
It's a poorer fit for:
- Budget-conscious shoppers trying to minimize grocery spending
- People who rely on specific brand loyalties not available there
- Those who need maximum product variety in a single trip
- Shoppers without access to a nearby location
- People indifferent to organic, non-GMO, or artificial-additive concerns
The Bottom Line: Making Your Own Assessment
Natural Grocers operates on a different model than conventional supermarkets—one emphasizing ingredient curation over breadth and price. That model has genuine benefits for some shoppers and real trade-offs for others.
The decision isn't about whether Natural Grocers is "better." It's about whether their standards, selection, prices, and locations align with your priorities, budget, and access. Visiting one and comparing a few products you buy regularly to what you'd pay at your current store gives you concrete data. From there, you can decide whether supplementing or replacing your current shopping makes sense for your situation.