Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers

Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets, Inc (NYSE: NGVC) (commonly referred to as "Vitamin Cottage" or "Natural Grocers") is a Colorado based health food chain founded in 1955 by Margaret and Philip Isely and now operated by their children. Natural Grocers are found in 13 states, mainly west of the Mississippi River. The company operates 65 retail grocery stores in Colorado, Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, Oregon, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska, Idaho, Arizona and Wyoming with approximately 1,500 employees and new stores opening monthly. Products include vitamins, dietary supplements, natural and organic food, organic produce and natural body care products.

The company is a longtime proponent of consumer education about health and nutrition, and runs an ongoing free lecture series with nutrition and health experts for both customer and employee education. Each store provides a free trained "Nutritional Health Coach" (see nutritionist) for its customers. All education activities are science-based, refer to most recent published studies, and not related to specific products or brands.

The company filed an S1 registration statement with the SEC on June 18, 2012 under the name Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. As of July 25th, 2012, the company is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "NGVC". Investor information can be found here.

The company is best known for its manifesto entitled "What We Won't Sell and Why", which is a list of substances not proven to be safe. These ingredients are not allowed in foods sold by the company even though government agencies approve of their use. This list includes artificial colors and flavors, artificial preservatives, irradiated food and meat raised using artificial hormones and antibiotics among others. All products ingredients and claims are screened by highly qualified review committees before being approved for sale. Only USDA certified organic (see Organic_certification) fruits and vegetables are sold. The company differs distinctly from "gourmet natural smorgasbords markets" like Whole Foods in that it does not focus on promoting many indulgent, but often unhealthy and expensive, processed or prepared foods. As a consequence, its customers tend to be highly aware of and concerned with the link between a good diet and improved health, using the Natural Grocers stores as a "food farmacy". In August 2009, Whole Foods acknowledged its longtime lack of focus on nutrition education and the link between diet and health, and vowed to repent its "gourmet luxe" market positioning.

Many of the company's guidelines for ensuring product purity and quality, developed over many years due to the previous lack of existing government standards, were used as the foundation for the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) legislation of 1994. Company founder Margaret Isely contributed to forming the precursor group that became the international trade group Council for Responsible Nutrition. The company maintains an active role in community education, regulatory affairs and scientific nutrition research.

Natural Grocers is the only major grocery retailer operating "Bag Free" stores, asking customers to bring reusable bags for their purchases or take a recycled box in place of plastic or paper bags. The company also operates an all-green retail location in Northglenn, Colorado, employing geothermal heating and cooling among other features. The store uses net zero energy for heating and cooling the interior. All Natural Grocers locations (not just distribution centers) undergo third party audits of their organic handling and processing practices by a USDA-accredited organic certification agency and are USDA certified organic handlers/processors. The company operates in compliance with all National_Organic_Program rules.

In March, 2009, company executives were invited to testify by former Representative Diana DeGette (D-Colorado) before the United States House Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations regarding its successful food safety plan in light of the Peanut Corporation of America peanut recall. Congressional staffers and representatives suggested that retailers were responsible for on site food safety inspections of all manufacturing facilities, because local health departments, state departments of agriculture, the USDA, and the FDA could not ensure the safety of the national food supply. Natural Grocers, testifying alongside Kelloggs and Nut King, reminded the staff lawyers and committee members that it would be physically impossible for a manufacturer to host thousands of inspection visits each year, and that eliminating contamination from outside the plant, especially from visitors, is normally a key concept in food safety. As for completed product testing, the congressional lawyers were asked how much of a 5,000 pound lot of peanuts they would like retailers to test in hopes of finding spot contamination. When the lawyers were flummoxed by the question, the retailers at the hearing suggested that government oversight of existing, site specific Good Manufacturing Practices was the agreed standard, and that therefore the government agencies responsible for food safety had clearly failed. Subcommittee chair Stupak then showed a slide depicting dead rodents, feathers, and other debris near the plant air intakes system. Food safety experts in the audience noticed an exceptionally well designed stainless steel air intake cover with large, medium, and small mesh grates that had clearly been successful in keeping out the hungry rodent, feathers, and debris from the surrounding agricultural environment. Surprisingly, the slide was used as proof that the plant air ducts contained the material that this grate had kept out of the plant.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

In 2006 the management team reached the Rocky Mountain regional final for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage received the Best Gourmet Grocery Store award from Denver's Channel 7.

In September 2009 Natural Grocers was named Colorado Top Retailer of the Year by CoBiz magazine.

Vitamin Retailer magazine named Natural Grocers as Vitamin Retailer of the Year in 2010.