Loblaw boycott boosts independent stores and grocery alternatives

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As a month-long boycott of stores owned by Loblaw Companies Ltd. continues, small independent retailers of food and alternative grocery options say they are seeing an increase in traffic and sales.

In the Edmonton feed market, sales were up 57 per cent during the first half of May, compared to the same period the previous month.

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“It's great that people are actually thinking about where their food comes from,” said business manager Courtney Hanak.

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A feed market is similar to an online farmers market: it hosts local vendors who sell meat, produce, and more, and stocks their products so customers get everything they order in one shipment.

Hanak said the increase in sales could help Forage implement its plans to expand into Calgary soon.

She hopes shoppers' interest in buying from local and small businesses will continue beyond May.

“Is this just going to be too good to be true? Maybe we'll have a really good few weeks, and then it'll come back around.”

After a Reddit group created to complain about Loblaw and other major grocers gained thousands of members, talk of a boycott began gaining momentum earlier this year as consumers grew increasingly frustrated with rising food prices and industry concentration. Organizers planned to boycott all Loblaw-owned stores in May.

Loblaw Chairman Galen Weston, as well as the company's CEO Bear Bank, responded to what they called “misleading criticism” at the company's annual meeting on May 2.

Loblaw said it is not responsible for food price inflation, and that it is trying to mitigate price increases by rolling back price increase requests from suppliers.

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Last week, the grocer said it was ready to sign up to a voluntary grocery code of conduct, an agreement aimed at leveling the playing field between suppliers and small retailers.

Some food retailers seeing a boost from the province as shoppers look for local options are grocery co-ops, an alternative model where the store is owned by members — in many cases, by customers.

The Steep Hill Food Co-op in Saskatoon saw an uptick in membership this month, which has helped the organization significantly.

It closed its doors two years ago, and in recent months the co-op has expanded its products to include more traditional fare alongside the fair trade and organic products it is known for, said Amiel Christopherson, manager of the area's main grocery store.

“We're starting to focus a little bit more on keeping our doors open, and doing that by meeting the needs of the people in this neighborhood,” she said.

This pivot actually helped increase membership, but in the last week of April, growth actually picked up, Christopherson said.

“We sell two or three memberships a day,” she said. “And that wasn't the case before.”

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Christopherson believes that joining a co-op can help people gain the sense of community they desperately need.

“Especially with food, it is essential to our lives,” she said. “So those two things mesh well together.”

Karma Co-op in Toronto also saw a rise in membership after the boycott began. The organization has already seen new members join in record numbers, with monthly growth of more than 50 percent, making 2024 the cooperative's biggest year for recruitment, the cooperative said in a May 10 press release.

In the past few years, apps and websites have emerged offering new models for grocery shopping. These companies are also seeing customers showing increased interest.

Odd Bunch is one of these. “It's really a win-win situation,” said CEO and founder Divyansh Ojha. The company sends customers boxes of produce and fruits that are not good enough for retail stores, saving shoppers money while also avoiding food waste.

The service began in London, Ontario, and quickly expanded throughout the province.

Last May, Odd Bunch sign-ups were “well above” normal numbers, Oja said — between 60 and 70 percent more traffic and conversions in the first week of May than a year earlier.

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“People at least want to try an alternative,” he said.

He added that it is important that the company finds a way to maintain this interest beyond May.

Tre'dish, another grocery delivery service, sells groceries directly from producers to consumers. CEO Peter Huang said its boxes save up to 30 percent on average compared to traditional grocery stores, thanks to the model's ability to reduce supply chain costs.

After launching its direct-to-consumer service in Mississauga and Hamilton in early March, the platform has seen significant growth week-on-week, Huang said. Tre'dish expanded to Toronto just two weeks before the Loblaw boycott began.

“The timing was very good for us to launch in Toronto,” Huang said.

Tre'dish has seen its subscriber base grow by 186 per cent since its launch in Toronto in April.

Hwang believes consumers are more interested in alternative models of grocery shopping as they grow increasingly frustrated with pricing, transparency and sustainability.

“It's a completely different model… I think it's very much needed,” Huang said.

“That's why I think we're seeing the demand and interest that we're seeing.”

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