Ukrop’s Launches New Natural and Gourmet Hybrid Market

RICHMOND, Va.—Ukrop’s Supermarkets, a Richmond, Va.-based grocery retailer that operates more than 25 retail food stores in the mid-Atlantic region, is experimenting with what it defines as a “hybrid model” natural/gourmet market called Joe’s Market.

The first location, in Richmond, opened in August. With 60 percent of its offerings natural and organic, Ukrop’s management is taking a deliberate step away from its conventional store model. According to Food World, a Maryland-based trade publication, Ukrop’s controls approximately a 41 percent share of total grocery sales from the grocery channel in the mid-Atlantic region.

Carmella Cramer, Joe’s Market’s manager, says the market is unique in that no other supermarket chains have a small-format store model. According to a local press report, Ukrop’s wanted to create an emporium that is a blend of a gourmet market with a natural-foods shop. The 12,000-sq.-ft. store features a center-store kiosk with freshly prepared foods, bakery items, sandwiches and a coffee bar. Cramer says that Joe’s sources produce and other goods from farmers across the country as well as working with United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) as its primary distributor.

So far, the market is receiving enormous support, according to Cramer, although she wouldn’t reveal sales figures for its first three months of operation. “Customers have made Joe’s their own,” she says, adding that customers participate in buying decisions by submitting product suggestions on a large white board. She admits the store is a work in progress.

Cramer says the company is examining the feasibility of expanding the Joe’s Market model. “We tried to meet the needs of our customer in this particular neighborhood. If we open another market, we would want to do the same with it,” Cramer says.