Causeway Natural Health celebrates its 20th anniversary after a challenging first decade

By Bruce W. Cole

Causeway Natural Health, located in Humboldt, Saskatchewan and co-owned by Cathy McAnally and Andy McAnally, may have faced many challenges in the first 10 years—a problem many natural health retailers are familiar with—but they never gave up hope that their store would make it.

 Long hours, low customer counts, navigating the pricing mystery, and other forces conspired to hold them back from getting a leg up. However, despite the uncertainty around the longevity and profitability of the business, things changed for the better after a decade when the fortuitous confluence of four events launched them into a period of stability and growth.

 Causeway came to be in 2003, based primarily on two factors: Cathy and Andy’s interest in natural health and Andy’s desire to leave his job as a route salesperson.

 Cathy’s interest comes from her mother, who introduced natural health into their family’s daily routine very early. “We were eating healthy and taking vitamins from the time we were very young. We grew up with this way of life.”

 Andy recalls being the “odd ball” in his family, as he had always sought out healthier foods. He was very active in sports and was in the army for 12 years, so he had to keep fit. In his spare time, he became a registered nutritional consultant, along with taking courses in reflexology and biofeedback.

 In addition to their inclination towards natural health, Andy’s desire to leave his job was another motivator. “It was 100 percent commission. There were very long hours. I did it for years. It was time for a change. I just wanted to be able to spend more time with the family.”

 Need for a store

Along with their personal interest, Causeway Natural Health ultimately was born out of necessity, explains Andy. “There was a tiny health food store in town that closed just before we opened. There was another health food store in town, but it sold things like wine kits and candies, things that were not really focused on natural health. So, we felt there was a gap that needed to be filled. We took a different path. We wanted to be strictly natural health. That’s why we thought we needed to open a store.”

 At first, the new store ruffled a few feathers with the competition, in part because Causeway was offering products at lower prices. This was not part of some great business strategy, says Cathy, laughing in retrospect. “Our prices were lower because we were new, we had no idea how to properly price things and we were still trying to figure things out.”

 Staffing

When the store opened, it was staffed by Cathy for four days a week, while Andy continued his old job. He would spend his two free days in the store. However, a year after opening the store, Andy was out of his job, which allowed him to join the store full time.

 The first decade

“It took us a good 10 years to get the store above water,” recalled Cathy.

“Our kids were young. We used to bring them to the store with us. We had a room just for them, where they could sit and watch videos.”

 That first 10 years was a test of resolve in many ways. There was a period where it didn’t look like they were going to make it, says Cathy. “In 2012, we were close to closing down. We had a lot of empty shelves.”

 Andy says, “we made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. We underpriced things, as we wanted to help people and, at the same time, give them a break on pricing. You have to make sure you have enough money. You need to have inventory.”

 The turning point

When things looked the bleakest, a quartet of events occurred in rapid succession that—in conjunction with Cathy and Andy’s hard work—began to turn the store’s fortunes around.

 Community futures

The first thing was the store getting involved with Community Futures Saskatchewan, an organization that has been in the business of encouraging and supporting the province’s communities and its small business owners for more than 25 years. It offers financing, business coaching, and advisory services. The store saw the benefits of this engagement almost immediately.

 Building upgrade

Then the owner of their rental unit committed to upgrading the building, explains Andy. “Our landlord decided to invest in the property. We were able to put in new flooring and a few other things. We had been in this same space for 10 years, so these touches made everything so much better.”

 Joining Health First Network

Around the same time, Causeway became a member of the Health First Network (HFN), a group of more than 100 independent natural health and wellness retailers across Canada. HFN provides stores with support and services that many might not normally have, including marketing, its own flyer, collective buying power, HFN private label products, and educational opportunities.

 Cathy compares it to being part of a big family. “It’s reassuring, knowing there are like-minded people in similar situations. You can count on other members to share advice. If we have questions or problems, we can contact the office.”

 Andy adds that “things like having the HFN flyer and a real good brand in the Health First products have helped.”

 Competitor retires

The final piece to the puzzle came when Causeway’s main competition in town—another health food store—closed since the owner retired.

 Suddenly, the store that had come dangerously close to going out of business found itself stronger than ever and the only game in town.

 Supporting the community

Like many stores, one of the newer strategies Causeway has introduced is stocking more locally or regionally produced items. “We carry lots of local products,” says Andy. “Not only are the products unique because they can’t be found in mass outlets, but they are also an important piece of making the community stronger.”

Another thing that has worked for them was their eagerness to educate their consumers and foster a feeling of community. “We are polite about it, because many people really have no idea what we are trying to do. We try and enlighten them in a positive way, saying what we are doing is trying to help and build a stronger community. Companies like Costco and Amazon don’t add to the local ball teams or the local hockey teams. They don’t add to the local community in any way.”

 Strategy change

Cathy and Andy also learned to be more forgiving to the products they had discontinued earlier that had now made their way to other retail channels.

 Andy admits, “now, if we see a product we used to carry that is now in mass, we need to bring those products back. Cathy said it best: ‘We forget many of our customers would like to buy everything from our store, even if it is 50 cents or a dollar more.’”

 Offering some food

You won’t mistake Causeway for an old-fashioned food store: the focus is primarily on vitamins and supplements. However, there is food on offer in the form of Causeway’s private label line, consisting of items including nuts, grains, flour, dried herbs, canned goods, beans, coconut milk, crackers, juices, and some grocery.

 Local practitioners

Causeway has built solid relationships with the naturopathic doctor located across the street, as well as the local RMTs. The goal is to fortify those relationships and build new ones.

 Promotion

Promoting the store has included a good mix of social media, ads on local radio, and flyers. “Word of mouth has been very effective for us,” relates Andy. “And we always have lots of good information off our Facebook page. It gets a lot of fairly good attention—people are looking at it.”

 Facing competition

Competition from multiple sources continues to put increased pressure on traditional health food stores. While Causeway is the only health food store in town, the many pharmacies and grocery stores do carry similar products, including supplements and protein powder. What the competition doesn't have, says Cathy, is the same level of knowledge possessed by her and Andy. “That’s the biggest advantage we have on the local competition. We can take time with customers. If we need 15 or 20 minutes to discuss the advantages of a certain product, that’s what we’ll take.”

 One message Cathy and Andy want to share with other health food stores is something they took a while to learn. “We have learned that our customers would like to buy everything they can from us. Even if it is a dollar more, they’d rather do business with a small store than a big chain pharmacy or grocery store. This is where the personal service and attention comes into play.”

 The ideal example of this occurred recently when a customer came into the store to buy a single item. As Andy was serving her, she revealed she actually had a much larger shopping list, but planned to buy the other items at the local pharmacy. Andy went into full education mode, addressing each item on her list in detail. By the time she left the store, she had bought every item on her list from Andy. It's the kind of knowledgeable attentive service she would never have received at the pharmacy.

 Still business partners

 In 2018, Cathy and Andy parted ways as a married couple. However, they have been able to continue to run the business together. “We have always been able to work together,” says Cathy. “We have been able to do this because we want to put our customers first,” Andy agrees. “We are both so grateful for the support our customers have shown, in good times and hard times. No matter what our personal differences may be, we will continue to work together, to provide the best service for our customers.”

 In November, Causeway held a landmark birthday, celebrating 20 years of serving this thriving farming community of 6,000. It wasn’t a big party—just a three-day sale in November, bringing in vendors, handing out samples, and introducing the new service they are offering: a bulk refill station with shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, body wash, grains, seeds, and flour. 

 As the 20-year anniversary passes, Cathy and Andy pause to look what they have accomplished. For Andy, he is still amazed it has been 20 years. “The days have flown by. We can’t believe how far we’ve come as a store. We sometimes wonder how we did it.”

 Cathy looks back on the early days with amazement, on how they managed to get through such a rough time. “Things are good now. We are still learning. We are still trying to move forward. We are still trying to do different things. We are still taking it one day at a time.”