New name, new store for Organic Grocer: Aura Natural Health Market
The Organic Grocer is now doing business as Aura Natural Market. The award-winning natural health food store has been serving Surrey, BC for 30 years and has recently opened its second store in the Willoughby neighbourhood in Langley, BC.
Kurt Astle, the co-owner of Aura Natural Market, talked about how the second store came to be. According to Kurt, bringing store number two to reality was more challenging than anticipated. “The opening was delayed by 18 months. The general contractor who was working on our store—as well as all the stores in this new plaza—went bankrupt after decades in business. We had to find another general contractor,” explained Kurt.
In the interim, Kurt headed the project. Ultimately, a new contractor was found through an unlikely source—his minor hockey connections in the community. “We were scrambling a bit, but it all came through in the end.”
Aura was the first store in the plaza to open, which generated a lot of excitement and anticipation in the community.
This new store is 3,000 sq. ft., which is 400 sq. ft. larger than the original Surrey store. Kurt said the extra space allowed for a juice bar and an expansion from a five-door freezer to a nine-door. “We have much more space for frozen [foods], including local raw pet food. It allows us to be flexible and provide more offerings.”
New name, elevated values
When asked about the reason behind adopting a new name, Kurt said he and his fellow co-owners—his wife Nina and friends Kristina and Rob Cavallari—agreed to re-brand the store to Aura Natural Market for a few reasons. “Being called ‘Organic Grocer’ was limiting,” he explained. “We didn’t carry just organic. We had natural products, which also have health benefits. Plus, ‘organic’ sounds expensive to some people. We felt the name was pushing some people away.”
Kurt said it was important to find a name that embodied the store’s identity. Aura is commonly defined as the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place. “An aura has different layers and we felt this represented every customer who comes through our door,” said Kurt. Selecting the new name took a few months, and a branding expert was hired to help with the process. “We think it is a name that we will grow into.”