Thanks for all of the feedback on our Bulk Department redesign. We appreciate the honesty, ideas and support. We felt it appropriate to share a few of the questions/comments/feedback from our Shoppers/Shareholders and some more information on our plans moving forward. Please know that all feedback forms are responded to, and placed in the Café.
- “Please bring back pasta to bulk!”
- “I do not like the new bulk foods. Too low for us 65-and-older folks”
- “Disappointed that you are discontinuing bulk purchase of Shikai shampoo.”
- “Raisins in bags, larger and smaller is much more eco-friendly than the plastic boxes. Same with sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds—back in bags please.”
- “Please bring back chickpea flour.”
The first iteration of our Bulk Department changes has occurred. Our goals going into this reset of the department were three-fold:
- Create an easier shopping experience with better organization of our offerings.
- Focus on those products that sold well and were always fresh and remove those that were not selling and were often composted.
- Lower shelving to create better light and allow our staff to be visible and provide the best possible customer service.
Did we get it right? Well, that’s up for debate, but the good news is that we have appreciated all of the feedback that has been shared with us. Based on the feedback and some conversations between our Bulk and Grocery departments, we have some immediate and long term changes to share as well as few updates.
Bin Locations
The lower bins in the Bulk Department that may be difficult for some to reach will be remedied. We are in the process of ordering some new shelves and will work through some different solutions over the coming month. The bad news is it takes at least 5 weeks for our new shelves and hardware to arrive. The good news is that by early December you will notice changes to the lower bins. In the meantime stop any staff in the store and ask for help filling your bags or containers.
Bulk Soap
There have been rumors that this area of Bulk will disappear. Let me please dispel those rumors, this section will be staying. The Bulk Department will be finding a better location and solution for storing the soaps. Offerings will primarily focus on on Castile soaps, laundry detergent, and dish soap. The remainder of bulk soap offerings such as shampoo and conditioner will transition over to the Wellness Department in gallon jugs.
Grocery Offerings
Packaged options for products such as sorghum flour, coconut flour, chickpea flour, mini-chocolate chips and bulk tofu are all available in the Grocery and Dairy departments. They are at a lower or similar price to the bulk offering, and are often fresher, maximizing nutritional value. Ask our Bulk team if you need a hand and please know that we can special order almost anything for you, just fill out a form and we can work on getting it in for you.
Bring Back a Few Items
We are pleased to share that a few staple items such as soba noodles and brown rice pasta are already back in the Bulk Department. We also have plans to brings back the cashew butter and tahini; this will take us a few weeks to get the right refrigeration options and shelving, but know that it will be a mainstay moving forward.
Packaging
We have transitioned almost entirely to #1 clamshell packages for our dried fruit and many other items. This transition occurred because they are recycled, 100% recyclable and re-usable, unlike our past offerings which had twist ties that ended up in landfills and bags that, while re-usable, were not recyclable and again ended up in the landfill. Please know that special orders and large bags of almost any product is available. If you would like to further cut down on packaging either please bring your own container or ask for large bags of staple items such as raisins, sunflower seeds and more. Thanks for your support, patience, and feedback through this process. We aim to get this right, and without such a loyal and vocal shopper and Shareholder group we would not be able to meet your needs.
Thanks!
The Bulk Department
