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Fresh Farmacy Food

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Here’s an interesting move in food retail. Walgreen’s pharmacy will start selling fresh produce, as well as freshly prepared food, in 15 locations in the San Francisco Bay area.

This is just a tiny fraction of its stores across the country, but if successful, this could be revolutionary.

What you need to know:

Pharmacies, especially in cities, command prime real estate locations. That means they get a lot of foot traffic daily. And as we all know, aside from drugs, they sell tons of junk food and beverages. Entire aisles of products that 20 years later have you buying in the drug aisles. A nice business model.

Now consumers will have more favorable options, easily accessible, and hopefully not too expensive. Let’s hope this experiment succeeds.

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  • http://www.awakenedwellness.com Rachel Assuncao, Health Coach

    I noticed a variety of fresh foods in my local Shoppers Drug Mart (here in Canada :-) ) last weekend when I was on my way into the postal counter.  Having just decided on a spontaneous country drive, I thought I’d get an after-school snack for my daughter, and was disappointed by what I saw.  While it was certainly better than chips and soda, none of the fresh stuff passed my personal ingredient checklist.  I ended up opting for a Lara bar as the best option. Hopefully Walgreen’s puts some thought into what they are bringing in and starts a new healthy trend!

  • Jessica Dragonetti

    Duane Reade, a New York City-based pharmacy, has rolled out a “fresh food section” in many of their locations — it may have started about a year ago. Their selections are fantastic – lots of fruit and veggies, Sabra brand hummus and thin pretzel chips, etc. They even carry organic frozen meals now – not that these are things I would get everyday – but it is nice to pick up a healthier snack or quick, organic meal on my way from the subway instead of chinese take out on those days I am in a rush.

    I love this initiative, especially in cities where pharmacies are on every block, but supermarkets tend to be a bit off the beaten path.

  • Leslie

    Like Rachel, I was about to comment that Shoppers Drug Mart, a dominant Canadian chain, does sell some fresh food in their stores.  I think it’s great, because it’s the only thing near my house that’s open late.  When I’m feeling munchy, I can actually pick up a veggie tray (they also sell bagged salads, baby carrots, peppers, mushrooms and bananas).  You do certainly pay a premium, but at least if you’re rushing in to grab something quick, you have some healthier options.

  • http://twitter.com/granolacatholic Lisa Greenwood

    Our local gas stations started carrying fresh produce. Although not a huge quantity and the price are high. But if I am hungry and did not pack a snack, it is nice to get a fresh piece of fruit. Our local ice cream chain has also added fresh markets and surprisingly the prices and selection are quite good. In fact they used to have the cheapest milk in town.  When you control the pipeline you can do that. 

  • http://www.thecookingblock.com Christa

    Excellent business model.  I haven’t seen it yet in our city but I look forward to it.
    I do hope the prices won’t scare off people using the service.  Produce is extremely perishable (as we all know) and for the store to purchase the right quantity for them to sell before is spoils is tricky.  I look forward to supporting a great idea.

  • FrugalArugula

    I went into a Walgreen’s “Pharmacy” the other day. I’m not putting pharmacy in quotes as to make a joke, but a REAL PHARMACY (like in Europe). It may have had one rack of candy in the whole thing. Everything else was for first aid, medical or homeopathic care. It was pretty much the most amazing thing I’ve seen in America this year.

    I’m glad they’ve got REAL food… but honestly, I’d rather see more of the REAL pharmacies, since I don’t go to the pharmacy for bananas.

  • kg

    Looks like a 7-11

  • Cheddalyn

    When we were recently in Las Vegas I was quite excited to find apples and banananas at the walgreens as well as yogurt and lunch meat (not the best quality) but for someone with food allergies, it was a welcome site!

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