Health Food Shop Concepts: Offering Food for Wellness Profitably

Dieting to maintain an hourglass figure and pumping iron at the gym to get that brawny body are yesterday’s fads. Fit, healthy and shapely bodies are no longer aspirations held by super models. Being lean is in trend and everyone wants to look good and feel healthy these days! To achieve these goals, modern, busy and on-the-go consumers are slowly graduating to a more practical and possible way to maintain their health, strength and figure, en masse – they are beginning to eat health foods.

This growing consumer awareness of the benefits of eating healthy and staying fit has spearheaded another foodservice retail trend – that of health food shop concepts. With chic interiors and shelves stacked with fresh food items that prompt modern health-conscious consumers to ‘eat for wellbeing’, these health food stores emanate a feeling of fitness and bonheur.

What’s on the Menu?

From salads, yoghurts, gelato, fresh pressed juices, baked items and everything in between – these health food stores offer a diverse range of wholesome, nutritious and scrumptious edibles that consumers can enjoy without overtaxing their calorie meter or feeling guilty!

The Business Aspect

Mushrooming at an unparalleled rate, these health food shops have surely become a global phenomenon. Specialty food stores have cropped up in every street, nook and corner and are being rivaled by established fast food restaurants that are diversifying their menu to include healthier food items and attract new (and growing!) customer segments.

These health food stores have dedicated concept design and call for a much lesser investment as compared to full-fledged restaurant set-ups. Most of these stores are based on a quick service format that adds convenience and efficiency to both selling and buying of food items.

Great Flexibility – Greater Returns on Investment

Like any other business, the establishment cost and running expenses of health food shop concepts are directly proportional to the location and set-up. However, health food shop concepts also provide an element of flexibility with regards to the availability of space that helps business owners to reap high returns on their investment. A business owner can choose to launch and run:

• A health food bar that offers takeout and catering service in about 20 m² in a high-traffic but limited space location;
• A health food kiosk for casual dining, takeout and catering service in 25–50 m² of space on a high-traffic street front; or
• A health food lounge with spacious seating arrangement and full menu, spread over 50–150 m² on a street front, in a trendy and posh up-market locality or in a shopping mall

Plus, the business format and service offerings of health food shop concepts can be easily modified to meet cultural, economic and sociological requirements of niche markets and target consumer groups.

Success and Profitability

The success of health food shop concepts is reinforced by ever-increasing consumer demands for healthier food items. Plus, these shop concepts call for considerably lesser investment and are risk-free ventures – two very important determinants that ensure their sustained profitability. All-in-all health food shops offer a ‘win-win opportunity’ for business owners wanting to invest in a profitable concept, as well as consumers looking for ‘food for wellbeing’.

If you are a foodservice business owner, an entrepreneur or an investor looking to park your capital in a profitable health food concept, we at DESITA can provide you with innovative shop concept design and branding solutions to kickstart your business, as we can suggest you a ready made project to start with immediately.