An Online Natural Food Store You Can Trust

I can shop at Vitamin Cottage again – and so can you! When my family lived in Colorado’s uber-progressive Boulder County, Vitamin Cottage was our go-to store. And now I’ve discovered we can shop there online at Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage.

In Boulder, arguably one of America’s natural food epicenters, we had our pick of natural and organic food stores, but our favorite wasn’t Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck) or Wild Oats (while it lasted) or even the legendary Alfalfa’s, the independent store that some claim started it all (before it got swallowed by Wild Oats). No, our favorite natural food store was a family-owned Colorado-based chain called Vitamin Cottage.

There are lots of reasons to love Vitamin Cottage. Sticklers for purity and quality, Vitamin Cottage’s owners insist on carrying only organic produce (unlike Whole Foods, which is content to mix in all sorts of conventional), and they would rather lose out on a sale than sell something they don’t believe in. For example, when my favorite Boulder ice cream producer switched from sugar to corn syrup, they instantly dropped them – to my initial dismay, but eventual appreciation. They maintain a complete list of unacceptable products and ingredients they simply won’t stock; you can find it on their website.

On top of all this, the staff at our local store was so personable that we quickly became not just customers, but friends. We still send our local store a holiday card every year. And here’s the kicker: Despite being a smaller chain with higher standards than the big boys next door, Vitamin Cottage also managed to be cheaper. Needless to say, we did the bulk of our shopping there.

When we moved to rural Southwest Virginia, we knew we would miss our Vitamin Cottage. We were glad to find not one but two locally owned health food stores in our new community (shout out to Eats and Annie Kay’s!), but compared to Vitamin Cottage their selection is not as diverse and their prices are higher. Still, we’re happy to support them, both because it’s good for our local economy, and because we’d much rather they stay in business than not.

But still, there are a few gaps we haven’t been able to fill, so I’m stoked to finally discover that I can shop at Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage. With the same stringent standards for what products they carry and the same competitive prices we knew in Colorado, the only thing the online store lacks is the familiar friendly faces. But Vitamin Cottage on the web offers the same wide range of groceries, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, and body care that we relied on.

If you’re not lucky enough to have a good health food store near you, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is a great option. If you do have a local organic grocer, but find that some items can’t be found or take a significant toll on your wallet, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is a great way to fill the gaps. Either way, Vitamin Cottage’s online store is well worth a look.

To visit, go to Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage. Tell ‘em Rick sent you.