Natural Health Retailers Unite :: Food and Nutrition

Natural Health Retailers Unite

A new retail movement is sweeping the Canadian natural healthproducts industry. Ninety health food stores across the country, located in most major cities and towns, have consolidated and formed a buying group called United Health Merchants (UHM). What does this mean for Canadian shoppers?

The purpose of this buying group is to increase value to consumers by improving purchasing power with suppliers, maximizing efficiencies and sharing knowledge in order to become better retailers. Thus, your local United Health Merchant store offers all the benefits of a locally owned
retailer who specializes in knowledgeable service, highly-trained staff and extensive product selection, with the foundation and backing of a national group. UHM’s national consolidation allows for competitive pricing, faster availability of the latest product innovations, regular sale promotions with a broad selection of popular products, and the introduction of our Canadian-made, quality assured Health First brand of supplements.

Many UHM health food stores were among the first established in Canada. Vita Health stores of Manitoba, for example, were started in 1936 and were industry pioneers. We are also extremely proud that UHM stores have been named Health Food Retailer of the Year by the Canadian Health Food Association in 2002 (The Horn of Plenty in Dundas, Ont.), in 2001 (Great Ocean of Halifax, NS) and in 2000 (Sunflower Natural Foods in Antigonish, NS).

UHM stores are committed to providing Canadians with access to quality health products, and we want to be your first choice for optimal health solutions. UHM puts its health product suppliers through a rigorous screening process that examines quality control, research and development processes, marketing practices and consumer satisfaction guarantee policies to ensure we are supporting only the best companies.

The United Health Merchants sticker on the front door of your local health food store is your assurance of quality and satisfaction in product selection, knowledgeable service and competitive prices.

United Health Merchants

British Columbia
Ave Maria, Prince George
Colwood House of Nutrition, Victoria.
Garden Health, Vancouver.
Homesteader Health Foods, Fort St. John.
Island Natural, Nanaimo.
Mother Maria’s, Prince George.
Natural Focus Foods, Burnaby.
Natural Resources, Kelowna.
Nature’s Bounty, Sechelt.
Sardis Health Foods, Sardis.
Vital Health, Creston.

Alberta
Green Tree, Medicine Hat.
Health 4 U, Spruce Grove.
Heritage Foods, Brooks.
Lifestream Natural Health, High Prairie.
Oliver Health Foods, Lethbridge.
Sincere Natural Health, Calgary.
Supreme Health, Edmonton.
Total Image Natural Foods, Vermilion.
Vitamin Farm, Edmonton and Calgary.

Saskatchewan
Saskatoon Herbs & Health Foodport, Saskatoon.
Good Earths Shop, Yorkton.
Sunlite Health Foods, Prince Albert.

Manitoba
Hedley’s Health Hut, Brandon.
Vita Health, Winnipeg.

Ontario
Alternatives Market, Oakville and Mississauga.
Burlington Health Foods, Burlington.
The Country Way, North Bay.
The Country Way, Sault Ste. Marie.
Durham Natural Foods, Sudbury.
Fiddleheads, Kitchener.
Foodsmiths, Perth.
The Gentle Rain, Stratford.
Health Advantage, Pembroke.
The Horn of Plenty, Dundas.
Harmony Whole Foods, Orangeville.
Health Service Centres, Toronto.
Kelcey’s, Peterborough Living Seed, Toronto. Mother Hubbard’s,
Nepean Natural Durum Bakery, Scarborough.
Northern Health Foods,
Owen Sound.
Nutrition Plus, Barrie.
Peaches & Green, Toronto. Plouffe Health Food Centre, Timmins.
Rainbow Natural Foods, Ottawa. Wholesome, Toronto.
Ye Olde HS&C, Bowmanville.

Quebec
Ki Nature, Montreal
La Rosalie, Sillery.
Sol epicerie santé, Aylmer.

Prince Edward Island
Nature’s Harvest, Charlottetown.

Nova Scotia
Charlene’s Nutrition Centre, Sydney.
Great Ocean, Halifax.
Sun Spun, Truro.
Sunflower, Antigonish.
Yarmouth Nat., Yarmouth.

HÃ©lÃ¨ne Meurer is a writer and book reviewer. She lives on SaltSpring Island, BC, where she is a consultant for Web-based publishing projects at websitemanagement.ca

Source: alive #247, May 2003

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