Rachel Krupa founded the socially conscious convenience store, The Goods Mart, in 2018 in New York City. The store is the type of place where neighbors get to know each other while grabbing a sustainable coffee for $1.25, a dye-free candy bar, local artisan sandwich, or staples like eggs and milk.
Krupa will sit on panel alongside other retailers during the session Sourcing With a Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. EST, as part of SFA’s Fancy Food 24/7 digital event. She recently discussed her mission with SFA News Daily.
Please tell me about The Goods Mart and its mission.
The Goods Mart is a better-for-you, socially conscious convenience store that values community and people above all else, and doing as much good as possible. Our mission is to make better-for-your foods more accessible and celebrate the incredible makers of all colors and backgrounds that make a positive impact on our food system.
Did you have to pivot your strategy in 2020 due to COVID?
Yes! We’re in a pocket of Soho that had predominately been corporate offices and since no one was going to the office, the foot traffic around us significantly diminished. Our pivot came from our customers asking us to ship their favorite products to their home—our Nationwide Snack Box option was born and our ecommerce shop emerged. We also decided to really buckle down to help uplift the local community that remained in New York by hosting bi-weekly Jamaican cookouts with our neighborhood UPS driver (who is a fantastic chef and formerly owned a restaurant in Kingston). We asked the incredible brands in our store to do safe sampling outside and rallied everyone to be connected (in a safe way of course).
How do you approach supplier diversity when it comes to making sourcing decisions?
It’s not just about finding brands to fill our store, it’s about the maker and the story on why the product was made. It’s time to give the spotlight to brands that do not get as much funding but deserve it. We actively seek out unique, stellar brands instead of just choosing brands that have buzz at the moment. Our goal is to provide a platform for diverse founders to find new customers to fall in love with them.
What is the Black Founded Snack Box?
The Black Founded Snack Box was created to celebrate the incredible Black Founded makers that fill our store. In 2020, we took the Aurora James 15% Pledge—committing to at least 15 percent of the store’s stock representing Black founded/owned brands. The snack box was created to give our customers near and far the ability to support and try the incredible Black makers that fill our store.
What’s next for you and The Goods Mart?
So much. We’re expanding and hopefully opening a few additional locations before the end of the year—contracts are not signed yet. We’re also building out or ecommerce program with a subscription snack box of the newest emerging brands hitting our shelves.
We also just launched two new programs that we are developing:
The Goods Vibes, a new incubator program for emerging brands that serves as a guiding light for new founders, with bi-weekly panels on topics such as branding, investing, and social media.
Taste & Tell, an in-store survey system through which customers can review and rate products, further informing CPG trends.
Related: Hy-Vee Opens 'Reimagined' Store; Fancy Food 24/7 to Feature Fast Pitch Friday.
Image: Vanessa Tierney Photo