Erewhon To Take a Bite Out of the Big Apple?

Since this story was published, Erewhon has clarified it does not plan to host a New York City popup. Please see our updated coverage for more information.

Get ready for a sea moss and adaptogen-enhanced summer, East Coasters: natural foods retailer Erewhon looks set to debut in New York City this June with a smoothie bar popup.

According to a (now deleted) LinkedIn post last week by Erewhon EVP Vito Antoci, the retailer is sorting through “hundreds” of inquiries from brands interested in participating in a NYC popup. This latest update comes after Antoci previously wrote on LinkedIn, in another since deleted post, that he was seeking brands to join the retailer’s “NYC tote bag” program.

While details are still unconfirmed, Antoci said in his original post that Erehwon will consider brands from a variety of categories including supplements, protein powders, superfoods and healthy snacks. To be selected, he added, a brand must already be sold in the retailer’s Los Angeles-based stores.

Brands in the popup will be required to pay a participation fee, Antoci wrote, though the cost for the NYC activation was not disclosed. According to a vendor deck about in-store activations seen by NOSH, Erewhon requires a $3,500 “administration fee” as well as 4,500 full-size units for a standard sampling program at its LA locations.

Antoci captioned his post with #ErewhonSmoothiePopUp, hinting at a possible food service bent centered around the retailer’s popular Tonic Bars. For its existing stores, Erewhon charges suppliers a $30,000 administration fee for the opportunity to collaborate on a custom beverage sold at its Tonic Bars; Four Sigmatic, Neutral and Beekeeper’s Naturals have all been featured in prior menu offerings.

Smoothies have long been popular with Erehwon shoppers, but interest reached a fever pitch in 2022 as celebrities and influencers including Kourtney Kardashian, Hailey Bieber and Bella Hadid collaborated with the retailer on Instagram-ready smoothies. The resulting beverages attracted national media coverage, with Fashionista dubbing Erewhon smoothies the “unexpected gold standard in beauty marketing” and “the most coveted collaboration in wellness.” Antoci told Fashionista that Erewhon sold 36,000 units of Bieber’s smoothie in the month after its launch.

But could that be enough to pave the way for a long-teased East Coast Erewhon storefront? After New York-based investment firm Stripes Group acquired a minority stake in the natural grocer in 2019, it seemed like a jump could be forthcoming.

“Erewhon can become a national brand and universally the most trusted in better-for-you food, period,” Stripes founder Ken Fox told Forbes at the time.

Crossing coasts has proved popular in the past year, with The New York Times recently asking “Is New York Turning into Los Angeles?” In the last year, New York City seen debuts by “social wellness” club Remedy Place in 2022 as well as the New Year’s opening of Gjelina. Meanwhile, clean beauty retailer Detox Market and Goop were “early” movers, opening New York locations in 2018.

Food industry event specialist Sue Chan told the Times that the pandemic fueled New Yorker’s appetites for “self-improvement, self-care, and self-love: a.k.a the epitome of Californian living.”

When the paper asked Erewhon if it would consider opening a New York store, a jump that one source called “the final frontier,” the retailer seemed to indicate it was simply a matter of time.

Erewhon declined to comment for this story.

Note: The cost associated with Erewhon’s in-store sampling program was adjusted.