Keepin’ it fresh! Vita Health Fresh Market renovates its largest store
By Vibha Shukla
From high-quality products to sustainable practices, Vita Health is more than just a health food store—it’s a family business deeply connected to its community and dedicated to empowering people to lead healthier lives.
Trailblazing natural health food
Winnipeg’s Vita Health Fresh Market has come a long way since it was first established by G.W. Seier. Not only was Vita Health one of Canada’s first natural health food stores, but it has since grown to become a cornerstone of the natural health food movement in Winnipeg.
Originally opening as a small mail order company in 1936, Vita Health opened a retail store and, in 1974, a manufacturing facility in Manitoba. John Holtmann joined Vita Health in 1971 and eventually bought the retail stores in 1998, operating as Vita Health Natural Food Stores of Manitoba, now Vita Health Fresh Market.
Over the years, Vita Health’s client base has grown significantly. Today, Vita Health operates six stores across Winnipeg, staying true to its mission of providing organic groceries, supplements, herbs, natural beauty, and green household products while continually evolving to meet modern demands.
Upgrading customer experience
Recently, Vita Health’s largest store underwent a major renovation. Vita Health’s Westwood location opened in 2013 after the company noticed a significant increase in consumer demand for natural wellness products in the area.
Marketing manager Kelly Lyons elaborates that “adding this location completed our coverage of the Winnipeg area, providing our suppliers a platform to be accessible to all Winnipeg consumers.” But it isn’t enough to open new stores.
To address the increased demand for natural health products and competition from mass-market retailers, Vita Health strives to upgrade their stores approximately every 10 years to ensure their stores provided the best shopping experience for their customers.
After a decade of the Westwood location serving its community, “it was time to overhaul our largest store, one of the last to be renovated in our chain, with the new, modern, and innovative design we created when opening our Linden Ridge store in 2020,” explains Kelly.
Brand integration and sustainability
The renovation at the Westwood location was a major project for Vita Health. Not only did they want to refresh the store’s appearance, but they also wanted to incorporate new features that would enhance the shopping experience.
“Our specific goal was to integrate our new brand specs into this location, as our look has been overhauled over the years. Located on one Winnipeg’s busiest thoroughfares, it was also important for the outside of the building to be reskinned and have the parking lot upgraded, contributing to an improved consumer experience.”
As part of this renovation, the Westwood location was fully overhauled. Major improvements included a new exterior façade, resurfaced parking lot, updated store signage, LED lighting throughout the store, and a brand-new pylon sign.
One of the most exciting updates that Vita Health was able to implement during this renovation was updating their image. “We updated the apple in our logo about six years ago, changing from a gradient apple to a modern apple silhouette. The renovation allowed us to apply this new logo on all signage, bringing more continuity to our branding,” said Kelly.
Increasing foot traffic
While the original layout of the store was well planned with great sight lines throughout, Vita Health took the opportunity to make further improvements. “We did decide to increase the bulkhead sizes and added some interior bulkheads. Our commissary kitchen was doubled in size to better service all store locations, including ventilation and power requirements.”
The increased visibility had immediate benefits and led to a noticeable impact on foot traffic. “We now have more modern, well-lit exterior signage in three locations, leading to increased visibility of our store,” Kelly shared.
Sustainability in focus
For a company rooted in health and wellness, sustainability is a natural extension of their mission. True to its values, Vita Health made sure that the renovation included environmentally friendly upgrades. Kelly explained, “in an effort to be more sustainable, our interior lighting was upgraded to LED throughout the store, as well as on all exterior store signage, including our pylon sign.”
In addition to reducing electricity consumption, switching to LED lighting will also reduce the need to replace and dispose of burnt-out bulbs. These efforts reflect their commitment to creating a greener, healthier future for their customers and the community.
Executing the vision
Taking on a large-scale project like renovating a flagship store is a significant task that requires the collaboration of an expert team—and that’s exactly what the company sought out.Vita Health dedicated nearly a year to meticulously plan the renovation.
Once the schedule was finalized, the actual renovation took only three months to finish.
Vita Health’s leadership was actively involved in the project and oversaw the design work, which was completed internally to ensure that the company’s vision was fully realized. “One unique design aspect that we incorporated is working with well-known local artist Kal Barteski, to paint our mission statement on the wall in her distinct custom font as well as a fun, word-art wall.”
After nearly a year of research, a general contractor was chosen to oversee the bulk of the trades, including electrical, drywalling, and painting, while special contractors were hired for the signage and refrigeration. Kelly highlights that Vita Health has built strong, longstanding relationships with these contractors, which facilitated the smooth execution of the project.
Balancing the challenges
Considering the scale of renovation for the store, challenges were inevitable. “The biggest challenge was not having any exterior signage for almost a month. The exterior was getting painted, and our pylon sign was taken down to be refaced. We weren’t able to put it up right away as there were some delays due to material shortages,” Kelly explains.
Another challenge was in negotiating with their landlord as well as the unforeseen costs related to electrical upgrades that needed to be put in place to incorporate design changes.
Despite both the anticipated and unanticipated hiccups, Vita Health was able to complete the project without disrupting their customers’ shopping experience.
“Thankfully we were able to complete the renovation without having to close the store,” says Kelly. “We were lucky to work with a general contractor who was able to source trades to complete the work after hours and overnight, in order to be open during regular business hours for our customers.”
Community appreciation and future goals
In reciprocation for their dedication to and love for their community, the customers have responded to the renovation with tremendous positivity. “We have seen an increase in customers walking through the doors, an increase in sales and average sale, and our Grand Reopening week was a huge success!”
“Our investment will help us continue to make the Vita experience the best experience for our customers, team members, and valued partners,” Kelly explains, and they show no signs of stopping. “We are looking to undergo another store refresh at our Osborne Village location within the next year.”
Vita Health is an integral part of Winnipeg’s natural health community, and their commitment to delivering an exceptional shopping experience for their customers demonstrates that they will continue to empower people to lead healthy lives.