Healthy Planet gets growing
Healthy Planet is in expansion mode, adding new stores and new offerings to meet growing demand for all things health.
The family-owned retailer recently opened four stores in Ontario, including London, Ajax, Scarborough and Toronto. The Toronto shop, at College and Bathurst, is Healthy Planet’s first location in the city’s downtown area, and a second downtown location is planned for Yonge and Bloor.
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“A lot of businesses are leaving downtown after COVID-19, but we thought it would be a good time to put a store downtown,” says Muhammad Mohamedy, general manager of Healthy Planet Canada. “The area didn’t have a good-size health food store, and we had a lot of people coming from downtown to our other stores.”
Two other stores are opening this year – in Richmond Hill and Oakville – which will bring Healthy Planet’s store count to 36.
Healthy Planet’s first location, which opened in 1995, was in a small kiosk in a strip mall on Danforth Ave. in Toronto. Three years later, Healthy Planet opened its first retail store and has been expanding ever since. Its growing product offering includes vitamins and supplements, sports nutrition, healthy foods and snacks, pet supplements, green beauty and eco-friendly products, as well as a fresh selection of organic produce.
With the new Ajax location, Healthy Planet launched its new Healthy Planet Kitchen concept, which features a chef-inspired menu with an assortment of grab-and-go items. The offering includes soups, sandwiches, wraps, bowls, pizzas, freshly squeeze organic juices, smoothies, breakfast items, baked goods and snacks. The retailer plans to expand the Kitchen concept to more stores, where space permits.
Mohamedy notes that while many health food stores have foodservice offerings, Healthy Planet saw the need to offer items at a more reasonable price point for customers. The idea is also to have grab-and-go options that cater to everyone’s tastes. “This is one part that was missing, so we felt we should give people more options for quick-serve,” he says.
In the longer term, Healthy Planet’s goal is to have 100 stores in the next 10 years. “Customer service and community are both very important to us,” Mohamedy. “So, as long as our team is strong and the community wants us, we will continue to build more stores.”
