Natural Food Retailers Association

How long have you been in the natural food business? When did you open your stores? Dean’s will have been opened thirteen years in November. The Ocean Township location was the first to open. I worked in a natural food store for two years before I opened my own store.

By Alice Shindelar

Member Services Manager

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Dean’s Natural Food Market has two locations, Ocean, NJ and Shrewsbury, NJ.

How long have you been in the natural food business? When did you open your stores? Dean’s will have been opened thirteen years in November. The Ocean Township location was the first to open. I worked in a natural food store for two years before I opened my own store.

Why did you go into natural foods? I kind of just fell into it. There was a business opportunity that came along to buy into an existing store. I didn't know much about it at the time but I was health conscious guy and I fell in love with the people immediately.

What do you see as your stores greatest strength? Our greatest strength is our link to the community. We are big supporters of local non-profits such as the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation for Children, the Monmouth Food Bank, and the Boys Club and the Girls Club. Every year a percentage of our profits go to these organizations. In the last two years we’ve given about $25,000. Our customers are involved in this program as well. We have a reward program where customers get back $10 for every $400 they spend or they can opt to get back $9 instead. We take their extra $1, give it to a non-profit, and match their contribution. We call it the Dean’s List. The other thing that really sets us apart is our commitment to organic. We are the largest provider of organic produce in central NJ, more so than even Whole Foods or Wegmans.

What has been one of your biggest challenges as a natural food retailer? The biggest challenge is evolving operationally, teaching and training people to understand how to manage information, category management, product movement, margins, how to utilize and maximize the company dollar. We're surrounded by very significant competition. We need to brand Dean's as a unique place apart from Whole Foods and Wegmans. We employ about fifty people. That’s a lot for a company our size. We need to be efficient.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for the natural food industry at this time? I think the challenges that we face as independents are the same challenges the industry faces. This industry is coming of age. We need to know how to operate efficiently. Fifteen years ago the stereotype was one of granola heads and hippies. We really need to be intelligent business people. I credit the members of INFRA for really helping us understand this aspect of the industry.

As a retailer, you have to be able to look at the people who do it right and say- that's the way we need to do it. Being able to reach out to INFRA members has been invaluable. My number one credit goes to Jimbo’s, we wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for them and other INFRA members. I hope to one day be able to influence others with what I have learned from INFRA members. That's what I believe INFRA should be all about and that's what it is all about. It really has transitioned us into a completely different company. We just renovated and expanded our Ocean location. I told my staff that we need to change our culture and our operations. I reached out to INFRA members and got some great feedback. I feel now that we're the best company we've ever been.

What are your plans for the future?  We're looking at a couple locations right now to build maybe a third and forth store. We’ve also committed to showing the movie Food, Inc. and that’s because of the discussions on the INFRA listserv. We're having four nights of showings. I was able to get sponsorship through some distributors to offset the cost. As a result of that we were contacted by local newspapers that want to interview us for being a public advocate. I believe that we need to continue to build the Dean's brand. We need to educate the community and surrounding communities of the benefits of this lifestyle.