PlantX expands reach with Hudson’s Bay Marketplace

E-commerce retailer PlantX Life is setting up shop at Canada’s oldest retailer, Hudson’s Bay.

The Vancouver-based company, whose PlantX e-commerce platform is dedicated to plant-based products from hundreds of brands, is now a seller on Hudson’s Bay Marketplace.

PlantX is selling more than 2,000 products on the new online marketplace, which launched last month. The items include plant-based pantry items, cosmetics and indoor houseplants that will be delivered to customers throughout Canada. PlantX will maintain responsibility for inventory management, shipping and customer service management for all of its items sold through Hudson’s Bay Marketplace.

On its own websites, Plantx.com and Plantx.ca, the company carries more than 10,000 products including plant-based groceries, beverages, ready-made meals, vitamins and pet food, as well as houseplants.

Alex Hoff, CMO at PlantX, says Hudson’s Bay approached PlantX to become a seller on the marketplace. “As we all know, the plant-based space is booming and everybody wants to be part of it,” she says. In turn, it made sense for PlantX to join the site since Hudson’s Bay is well known and established in Canada. “Hudson’s Bay is an authority in retail, it’s been around forever, and it’s a household name.”

Asked if the partnership will allow PlantX to reach a new type of customer, Hoff quoted PlantX founder, Sean Dollinger. “Sean always says it best: if you eat, then you’re our customer.”

“It’s not just about health and wellness,” adds Hoff. “Our products are for everybody, including kids, pets and home... Hudson’s Bay has their loyal customer base, so the plan was to give them plant-based options and make it easy for them.”

PlantX, which bills itself as “the digital face of the plant-based community” is also expanding into brick-and-mortar this year. It’s opening a new 15,000-sq.-ft flagship store in Squamish, B.C. in the new two weeks, and a 4,500-sq.-ft. store in San Diego in mid-May—timeframes that were both pushed back a couple of months because of COVID-related permit delays.

Hudson’s Bay, whose roots trace back to the late 1600s, has said it would bring more than 500 sellers to its online marketplace by the end of 2021, in categories such as sports and recreation, tech, pets, health and wellness, handbags and watches.