Summary

Nude Foods Market is a Colorado based grocery store that is bringing reuse in a big way to the grocery food industry. According to their website, the average American produces 1,704 pounds of trash each year, which is enough to fill 23 million garbage trucks, which is 50 garbage trucks per minute! The company does not have any plastic packaging in its stores and everything is packaged in reusable, returnable glass jars, and tends to be local, organic or rescued. Being a full service grocery store means that they offer items typically found in conventional grocery stores, like produce, prepared meals, groceries, cleaning products, body care products and bulk items. (Source) Customers can shop for over 1,800 products, including produce, dry goods, and household items, all packaged in returnable containers. they offer a membership model to encourage customers to return to their stores. By handling the packaging logistics internally, Nude Foods combines the sustainability of zero-waste practices with the ease and familiarity of a conventional grocery experience. This model reduces contamination risks, ensures consistent product quality, and streamlines the customer experience while maintaining a strong commitment to environmental responsibility. (Source)

Story

Nude Foods Market began in Boulder, Colorado, in 2020, founded by co-founders Rachel Irons, Verity Noble and Matt Arnold. Irons spent a summer hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, which gave her lots of time to think about various business ideas. She had been interested in a story from the Caribbean where local communities had been encouraged to fish and consume a local invasive fish species- the Lionfish. During the hike, she started to formulate the idea for a business that centered around the idea of eating invasive species, which eventually led her to the idea that the best way to sell these kids of products would be through a grocery store that would emphasize local food, customer education and no single-use packaging. (Source) Fast forward to when the pandemic hit, her boss, co-founder Matt Arnold, had some extra kitchen space in his commercial kitchen which Irons pitched to be a test kitchen for her grocery store idea. Arnold introduced Irons to Noble who had also been frustrated with grocery stores utilizing so much plastic, and Nude Foods Market was born soon after! (Source) The founders combined their diverse backgrounds—Noble’s entrepreneurial spirit, Arnold’s experience with commercial kitchens, and Irons’s sustainability advocacy—to create a zero-waste grocery delivery service. They started with just 20 products, delivering them by bike in reusable containers. As demand grew, they expanded their offerings and opened their first brick-and-mortar store in Boulder in 2021, followed by a second location in Denver in 2024.

Pic credit: Boulder Daily Camera (right) and Fairdare (top)