Better-For-You Delights Now At Your Local Stop-and-Shop with Rachel Krupa

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to chat with you today.

Me too. I'm so envious. You're in my hometown, so it was fun to get to chat with you briefly before this call. I get a little nostalgic.

New York. New York feels good. That's all we're telling everyone. New York's energy is alive and rearing.

And I will be there next in a week, so I'm excited. I just stopped by The Goods Mart. But for those not familiar with it, let's give them a little insight into who you are, what The Goods Mart is?

Yeah, so thank you so much. So The Goods Mart is my better for you socially conscious convenience store. We have three locations in New York. So Rockefeller Center, and then 11 West 42nd Street, which is right across from Bryant Park. Think of our stores as these little like gym boxes of every emerging brand, highly curated into one 500 square feet or less. So you're going there to discover the coolest, newest brands all better for you. So everything in our store is non GMO, no artificial flavors from that. And then it's a little bit of everything. Because for us, better for you is just the quality of the ingredients that go inside the mission of the product in the founder who makes it versus saying healthy, because healthy two people means so much. Someone could be paleo and they're healthy. Someone is like less refined sugar that's healthy. Others are like plant based is healthy. All are correct, and so we want to accommodate all of them.

That's great. It's true, because some people don't eat dairy and some people are gluten free. And healthy does mean different things to different people. It's true. And the right choice, what's right for you may not be right for the next person.

Exactly. And that's like the fun part. And that's just having those conversations and dialogues with people when they come into the store to shop. It's fun to see reactions. And it's fun to just have them discover, but also give feedback. They're like, I tried this, I loved it. Or I tried this one, but I didn't. And then just kind of digging and deeper of like, why? They will tell me why you didn't like it. And they're like, oh, because of this and you're like, oh, you're a supertaster for monk fruit and stevia. Which some people are.

So what inspired you to get into this.

I've had my own PR agency since 2010. So it's crazy that it's been 13 years now, and the clients that we had in the PR agency we're all better for you food and wellness brands. So it kind of fits within that better for you category. And we worked with a lot of brands earlier on. So brownie brittle, (inaudible) were too, and it was talking to them about the strategy that they had. They had a strategy to go into the natural market, so they think of that as Whole Foods. There's a strategy to go into club stores. So that would be Costco, Sam's Club. And then there was a strategy that went more conventional. So that would be your Ralph's, your Pavilions, your Publix, anything along those lines. And then there wasn't really a strategy for convenience. I grew up in a small town in Michigan and convenience stores for me were the, and who doesn't love a good 7-Eleven especially if you're from the Midwest and gas station. So mine was a Sunoco gas station. It was like, where you got to find candy, you got to see people, you got to have this interaction. Because for me, food is always where people are, food equals time and an emotion if it's sad or happy, or just like laughing with friends. It's just that moment of comfort. And so it was just like, okay, all these brands have these really great strategies for this. But from a convenience store perspective of how I love to shop, it was just like, okay, they didn't have a strategy. And then when I went to convenience stores and just smaller footprint grocery stores, everything was a little bit back in that day. And so that was like 2017. Still was like that separation of organic, natural, and conventional. So you're like, why do I have to shop in this like one section and have a few options? In my mind, everything should be made better for you because it just uplifts everyone. And so it's just like, why do I have to compromise to have just only a Clif Bar Krave jerky, because that's really the products that we're spearheading the better for you categories that you can get in convenience stores back then. So it was like, let's do something different. Let's figure out what this convenience store would look like that would actually speak to today's generation of what convenience actually is. And it was finding all of those better free brands and putting them into one place that you could go and just shop, and not have to say no or have to look so much at the ingredient label.

I think that's a great thing to have, and to be able to access. Because I've gone into some of these stores, and there's so much stuff that we can't eat, and you spend so much time looking at ingredients and go, okay, can't have that, and I can't have this, and I can't have that. There's fewer items that you can have. And to be able to access a convenience store where you know that your choices are more curated. And within those options, at least you know that you're going to have something because they're already curated to be better for you. Maybe they're not going to all work for you. But within that scope, there'll be one, or two, or three that will work for you.

Oh, great. I think it also goes back into when you were focused on more of the young emerging brands. You're also supporting a founder that wants to create it, because it's either a flavor from their culture, or it's something that they found was missing when they were looking for something to snack on or to eat. So it also is like shopping and supporting small local brands, and like achieving and making their goals become a reality too. So it's like you win in the snack category, but you're also doing something great for someone else.

I'm just gonna add a few more bonuses in my mind, let's do it. Let's do it right. It's also going to make you feel better, because you're not going to fall back on things just because it's the only thing available. And then you're probably doing something better for the planet. Because if people are doing things that are better for you, odds are they're also considering the planet.

That is true. And I think that it is making things more approachable. I think on the flip side to have the other conversation of it, it's just like when you see something new and from a discovery perspective, if you're used to your own thing, you're used to, my favorite thing to talk about is Diet Coke. Because I don't drink Diet Coke. I used to probably have, what? 220 ounces a day back in the day and those like the early 2000's. But then it was like, okay, I don't want this anymore. Because Diet Coke is just made out from a chemical perspective but then now in the store because we do have a store at Rockefeller Center that the customer is traditionally a little bit older that they want their diet coke. We have a couple others like the beverages that are the most pre probiotic sodas that are very popular right now. But they don't want those. And so we're like, okay, tell me why? Tell me why? They're like, because I like the artificial taste. Because it's the taste. But a majority of the people look at it from a caffeine perspective because they know how they're going to feel based on this product because of how they've been drinking it for so long. So they need this energy boost at like 3:00 or 4:00 o'clock because it's caffeine. And so you have to go back and actually learn, like, why is someone eating something and looking at it from a standpoint of a real human psyche type of thing. Because then you can actually give them an offer versus like, oh, it's here. Then I think sometimes we judge people based on, oh, you don't want better for you because you want this? And you're like, no, it's because of the caffeine. And these other products don't have the caffeine to make them perform that way. And so you're like, this is fascinating. And so then that's where you're just like, oh, here's where innovation comes in. Let's find a COLA for you that has caffeine that you can then have and that it's better for you. And I think that's where there's always constant innovation that we're gonna see coming.

I couldn't agree more. I also think that choosing better for you doesn't mean that it is perfect. It just means that it's a better option. It means that maybe it doesn't have that artificial sweetener, maybe it has monk fruit or something else that might be a better option. But yet, it still has caffeine, or it still has something that's going to do for what you need. It's just the better option. And I think sometimes, we forget that. People are very hard on themselves when they expect it to be perfect, or if you're not going all the way. But the truth is, if we can make a better choice for ourselves and for others, whether it's family members, etcetera to give people what they need, just a better option that suffices or that they'll feel happy about that will give them joy and fill that need, then that's a good option.

I agree. I think you really hit it is something that we try to do best. It's just like, you just meet where people are and it's about a balance. Some days you're not gonna eat this perfect better for you meal or snack, and you're okay with that. Because you just need to have that balance. And we're constantly being tossed in so many directions in real life. We don't need to have to do that, that sometimes things bring us joy.

Yeah, I agree. So as somebody that's NPR and somebody that has this convenience store, I'm sure you see a lot of different kinds of better for you products. And I'm sure a lot of things come across your plate, and there's things you say no, and there's things you say yes to. So I'd love to hear how you make those decisions.

Oh, that's like the fun part. It's like resume, kind of the point of your snack taster. It's fun because I look at it, I know I have different tastes and most because I like healthier food, or the better for you side. But with that, not everyone does. And so I always want to make sure that every product that we have in the store is tasted, and we have a consensus of it where I don't like the taste of monk fruit stevia. So for me, that product to me is a no. I don't like it. But then, I'm going to give it to my team members that are working in the store. I give that to corporate, I'm going to give that to my family, my friends, my father, but also my 7 year old nephew. What is the consensus on this stuff? So that you can get this cross pollination. Going back to the Diet Coke, my dad was like, you can't have Diet Coke. You just can. And he was just like, okay, find me something else. And he loves Virgil's zero cola. And you're like, okay, tell me why do you like that more than this other? And he was like, because it has that, again, it's more of like that aspartame taste, but it's not as stevia. And so they're like, okay, great. Let's look at that. And I'm like, okay, then that's what we need to bring into our Rockefeller Center location, because that is what that customer will probably like. You look at it also from a taste perspective, also the size of a product, also based on the cost because you want to make sure that the value is there too. And there's nothing worse when you purchase something that's new and cool. And you are really excited to open it up. And when you open it up, the packaging does not match the inside. It's like looking at the whole picture. And then also looking at the founder and looking at like, what is that story in that journey? Where do the products come from? So there's a lot that goes on our side in order to figure out like, hey, do we think this is going to work well in the store? And then sometimes it's like, I think it will work. And sometimes, we just try that too because I think what we love is just having people discover things and being that store that might be the first to carry something you have absolutely no idea if it's gonna work or not. We used to pantry used to do horribly for us. But now people are coming in more for pantry items. And you're like, okay, great. We can expand this section a little bit more. And you can see the dip and dives of things where you are no more from a standpoint of protein bars, and the bar category went down during COVID because of the fact that people were not on the go. And so bars during, when you were working from home, they were cooking more, they were having more of an experience of cooking for themselves. But now that we're not working from home so much anymore, bars are increasing again. So then it's like, okay, we have to do bars and what are people looking for because they're looking for more than just the Cliff kind of like Luna bars back in the day. But they're looking for some things that are more functional, like properties of superfoods are more nootropic, like gut health from a fiber perspective. So it's fun to look and guess also. Sometimes, guests have educated guessing. But having like, okay, what do we think people want? What is the taste of everything collectively? So we bring it in. Should we give it a try? Does it work? Does not work. So there's a lot of trial and error in it. But you just have to give things a try sometimes, but you have to do it based on other people's tastes more than just my own.

Of course, because I don't like sweets. That's just a personal thing. I don't like, every now and again, I want a little something sweet, but that's why I don't like monk fruit because it's way too sweet. I mean, you put $1 a little dash of it in. I go and I get (inaudible) ball. And I'm like, no, honey, no nothing. They're like, this is the real deal. And I'm like, yes. No honey, no sweetener. They're like, no, no, this is the real deal. And I'm like, no. I know. So again, every customer is different because the majority of the customers want a little sweetener in there. Yeah, so I get it. I do because I know that the majority of customers probably want a little something sweet in their food that keeps people eating. People eat more when they are there, when they eat sweets too.

That's the fun part. That's just knowing that and kind of guessing off what you're seeing from a trend perspective. And the beauty of it is you can see trends before trends even hit because you have customers coming in on an everyday basis.

So I'm curious, as you get some of these newer brands, because you like to support, as you mentioned, a new brand as somebody that also does PR. Do you connect the dots for these people? And are you helping them with that as well? Does that go hand in hand?

Sometimes too. I love to try and be a resource to the brands in our store. So what do you need? What can we help you with? On the PR side, we launched more of a new category called emerging, which we are working with more early stage brands that at an early stage kind of budgets where it's more of the essentials that you need from editorial outreach in some light influencer of like, what do you need when you're just getting started? So we launched that. That also helps like, we have a handful of brands coming from the store onto that side. But again, going back to how we can be helpful, I look at the goods as they're two separate companies. But also at the same time, how do you do all tie rides together? And so if this brand gets more press, and it's at my store. Then great, we all win. But also at the end of the day, it's like 20 years of PR, what can I do? How do you help? How do you get these young brands that are doing it right to be the namesake brands in the future?

I think it's a great resource. It's a great combination of efforts to offer your resources, both as a convenience store, but also as a vehicle and a platform to help them get the word out. And also providing community for them. Because the more people go into the store, the more they taste, the more they try them, where they share that with friends. And referrals are the best way to share. If I like something and I tell somebody, a third party pitch, so to speak, and I'm saying this is the best oatmilk I've ever had. I'm allergic to oats, but this is the best oat milk I have ever. You should definitely try it. It's gonna go a lot further than just choosing something off the shelves. Well, this makes the best cappuccino you're ever gonna have.

That's amazing. And I'm so sorry that you're allergic to it, we do not have to follow the oatmilk trend for a long time.

I did the oatmilk trend. That's how you found out. I was all about Oatly. I even had Bjorn on the podcast from Oatly. And I was a big fan. I liked the way that it froze in my cortado every day. And then I went and got tested, you know, like we all do, right? Or a lot of us do. And I found that I was allergic to oats, which then cuts out a whole lot of things. But I'm sure that when I come to The Goods Mart when I'm in New York and I go pick up some snacks, I will find lots of options.

You will find a lot of options. You have to try pistachio milk. It is amazing.

Okay, I'm gonna try that. I'm going to try that. And hopefully, I can find that locally here.

I think you can. I think it is one of the sources.

Okay. As you guys are growing, I'm curious, what's in store for The Goods Mart in the next few years? What do you hope for?

I think for us, it's really leaning in to just like, how do we continue to help the brands that are in our store and really be like a true partner with them, and try to figure out a new way to do retail because there's always a lot of cost on the backside for these emerging brands. It's like you have to pay for X,Y & Z. You have to do this, and it costs a lot. And so at the end of the day, because of where we are from an economic perspective, it's hard to get funding. It's hard to continue. So it's just like, how do we help them while they're in their challenging time, but continue to innovate on our side? We're still figuring that out and noodling that. But when we do figure that out, I know that it's going to be more of opening up a few more stores here and there. But it's more of building more of like, how do you reach consumers and customers on a higher level?

And do you expect to see yourself just in the tri state area? Or do you expect to see it going a bit more national or global?

From a brick and mortar perspective staying local, but we have like our E commerce and we still, so we have that. We can get you some products already?

I have to get the Taj milk.

You have to get that online. But then at the same time, I think it's just more of a matter of we are starting to do curations for corporations for pantries and for mini bars of folks. Because again, that goes back into how you reach more people with these really cool brands. HSo we're curating different hotel mini bars. And then looking from a corporate pantry side of like, how can we help you? Your employees want something tasty and better, you want something tasty and better. You also want to support more sustainable brands more than our upcycle, the regenerative. But also from a founder from a diverse background, let us help you curate that for you. So we're doing that on top of just like our store. So our reach is so much larger than the stores I think within a brick and mortar perspective.

That sounds amazing and exciting, and lots of growth of opportunity. I already see, I remember years ago when we would work in the offices and people would walk around with the baskets. Now, we're gonna have The Goods Mart.

Oh, my gosh. I've been like--

And the vending machine. You can do vending machines?

I have never had issues with vending machines. To be honest, I don't think anyone wants vending machines anymore. Because I think everyone assumes that vending machine stuff has been there for all time. Yeah, I think that's what we all think. I have the dream of an old airline cart that you just kind of push through and have popsicles and slushies, and just things on it. So it's almost like that kind of the arm that goes out with the code that you have like the watches, but they're all snacks.

Well, to that end, you know JetBlue, right after the midsection in between mint and economy, they have that section with all the snacks, you know that?

I have not flown JetBlue but a friend just got on and they're like this pretzel that we have Stellar. We just brought that in. She's like, I just had these on JetBlue. And I was like, really? That's amazing. And so it's nice to see that they upgraded on that too. Airlines would be wonderful. Well, putting that out there.

We'll have to brainstorm one day because I've got a few other things and maybe some other products we could collaborate on. Love what you're doing. I'm so glad that you were able to join me today. I loved learning about what you're doing, and I feel like we could just go on forever. I'd love to even have you back and share your story and journey on how you got into this.

I would love that anytime. This has been so much fun. It's like such a good afternoon.

Thank you, Rachel, for joining me. That was easy for me to remember today. Well, thanks, Rachel. And for those interested if you're in the tri state area, where are your locations again?

So on Lafayette between Brooming Grand, Rockefeller Center, and then 11 West 42nd Street.

Okay, we will put this all on our show notes as well. We'll add the links so you can go online for those that are in other areas like myself, they can access the store until I arrive in New York next week. But thanks again, Rachel.

Thank you.