How many times have you, as retailers and individuals, used the phrase “turning over a new leaf”? For most of us, it refers to a shift or change in behavior, a fresh start, a new beginning, eliciting an image of spring, rebirth or growth. Forrest Gonsiewski
It’s much the same for New Leaf Community Markets, a four-store operation based in Santa Cruz, Calif., whose stores have continually raised the bar on high-quality sustainable foods and strong vendor and employee relations – placing it among the most progressive retailers in the state. “Our relationships with vendors, employees and the community make up the foundation of the New Leaf brand,” said Forrest Gonsiewski, senior director of the California region, who has been with the company 18 years. “Our commitment to sourcing natural, organic and local sustainable products is the reason customers shop our stores.” This is clearly part of New Leaf ’s DNA. Its sister company, New Seasons, based in Portland, Ore., operates 21 stores primarily
in Oregon and Washington and works under the same purpose-driven marketing and merchandising strategy. However, New Leaf is focusing on California alone. At present the company has four stores: two in Santa Cruz, and one store each in Capitola and Half Moon Bay. This spring, a fifth store will be opening in Aptos. The stores are comparatively small considering the range of products they carry, said Gonsiewski. Stores range in size from corner grocery concepts focusing on grab-and-go offerings, like the Downtown Santa Cruz store’s 11,000 square feet, and the Capitola beach café location at 15,000 square feet, to full-service offerings in its flagship Westside and Half Moon Bay stores, both at 23,000 square feet each.
“We expect our upcoming Aptos Village location to be a major neighborhood grocery destination with over 17,000 square feet,” Gonsiewski said. One of the things that sets these stores apart is that New Leaf, as well as New Seasons, were among the first B-Corp certified grocers in the U.S. “This certification is a very rigorous thirdparty verification system,” he said. “They come in and do detailed audits of things like sustainability, staffing, benefits, company culture and communications. And the stores have to be recertified every couple of years.” The audits are conducted by B-Lab, a nonprofit organization whose certification standards are governed by the Standards Advisory Council. Its goal is using business as a force for good around the world. “B-Lab’s philosophy is that of the triple bottom line – people, planet and profits,” Gonsiewski said. “And, there are quite a few products in our stores that are B-Corp certified.” New Leaf accomplishes this by maintaining strong relationships with producers in the community.
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