shopOrganic provides health-conscious consumers with natural products online

Cara Silverstein says passion and connection led to the development of an innovative Arizona-based and womenowned business.

“We had all worked closely together at a previous employer,” Silverstein says. “We realized we made a great team and had a complimentary blend of skills to start a business together, so we created a business plan for shopOrganic in early 2008 and launched the website that May.”

shopOrganic — which Silverstein owns with business partners Susan Snedaker and Lisa Mainz — offers organic and natural products to online customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Products range from groceries and bulk, household and cleaning supplies, to health and beauty, pet products and more.

“We are all passionate supporters of organic agriculture and as more and more shopping shifts to online shopping, we wanted to create a site for customers who are looking for quality organic foods and natural products,” Silverstein explains. “Food choices are so intensely personal and people are realizing that clean, healthy food is a healthy choice. Our goal was to create an e-commerce site that is inviting and easy to use and is packed with reliable product information.”

Silverstein says shopOrganic’s best-selling products are organic ingredients that are the foundation of great meals — olive oil, herbs and spices, sprouted or wild rice and other grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruits. Quantities range in size from one to 50 pounds.

“We have been able to identify two main demographic segments,” Mainz says. “One is the urban customer with high income and education levels from areas such as New York, Phoenix and Chicago. These customers appreciate both high quality organic foods as well as unique gourmet and artisanal products that they can’t find locally. Our other main segment is the rural customer who is interested in a sustainable lifestyle, but has limited local access to organic and natural products.”

Despite launching the business in the midst of the economic downturn, Snedaker says they have been able to grow the business each year and are in the process of revamping the company’s current website to include four distinct stores: shopOrganic, shopNatural, shopGMOfree, and shopGlutenFree.

“We adjusted and responded, and in this economic climate, that’s a real accomplishment,” Snedaker says. “We’ve not only survived, we’ve thrived. We have a strong, loyal and growing customer base. We have the highest quality organic and natural products on the market today and the three of us are still great friends and business partners. That’s what we’re proud of.”

For more information on shopOrganic, visit shopOrganic’s website at shopOrganic.com.

Arizona Business Magazine July/August 2012