I lived in LA for two years, and it wasn’t long before I heard of Erewhon. A friend insisted I would love it. I wasn’t sure why she was telling me I would love a particular grocery store—after all, grocery stores are grocery stores. Right?
Months later, on my way to a gathering, I realized I was coming empty-handed. The closest grocery store was Erewhon. The store’s interior was Whole Foods meets Trader Joe’s—but better. The clientele, fancy. But what caught my attention most of all though was the price tag. Begrudgingly, I grabbed a $15 brie (and complained about the price tag all the way to my friend's place). Begrudgingly, I will confess that it was the most delicious brie I’ve ever had.
In LA, Erewhon is a natural hang-out spot. You can try out their healthy smoothies, gawk at the $138 (I’m not kidding) tote bags, grab some natural juices packaged in fun-sized containers, and then sit outside on the benches and gossip with your friends. The market is a distinctly Southern California indulgence, and yet in 2023 its charm took over social media platforms. Here's Erewhon's 2023 in numbers.
How Erewhon Compares to National Grocery Retailers
Erewhon grocery store 2023 EMV performance compared to retailers like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Market, and Sprouts
Erewhon Market has 10 grocery stores across the broader Los Angeles area. Despite this relatively small store count, the grocery store outpaces national retailers like Sam's Club and Sprouts by EMV, and doesn't trail far behind prominent national retailers, such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market.
For context, here's a quick rundown of the store count for select grocery stores in the U.S., along with their EMV for 2023:
- Trader Joe's, 564 stores, $186.4M EMV
- Whole Foods Market, 516 stores, $119.7M EMV
- Erewhon Market, 10 stores, $60.2M EMV
- Sam's Club, 600 stores, $59.3M EMV
- Sprouts, 405 stores, $27.1M EMV
The Earned Media Value that Erewhon has accrued with just 10 stores is pretty wild. Proportionally, if Erewhon had 400 stores, one might expect its EMV to reach $240.3M EMV, around Costco's $289.3M EMV (600 stores). Of course, you can't exactly extrapolate EMV by store count (though you can use it to predict market share growth). Needless to say, Erewhon Market's growth potential is endless.
Overall, Erewhon enjoyed an impressive year-over-year EMV improvement of 65%, a higher growth rate than every other grocery retailer we track, with the exception of Wegmans (120%) and Co-op (273%), retailers with significantly less EMV penetration.
How did this local, charming, somehow ironic grocery store go viral?
You Can't Talk About Erewhon Without Talking About the Smoothies
Erewhon is known for its eclectic variety of organic food options, but one item stands out among them all: the smoothies. In 2023, #ErewhonSmoothie generated $2.5M EMV via just over 400 posts.
It's true that the prominence of Erewhon smoothies aligned with the cultural affinity toward wellness and health-consciousness that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the biggest reason why Erewhon's smoothies became famous was social media darling Hailey Bieber.
The Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie—the inspiration behind the viral product from Bieber's skincare line RHODE—regularly sells 40,000 a month, according to Erewhon's Executive Vice President Tony Antoci. The smoothie collab came about organically: Bieber posted a typical smoothie she ordered at Erewhon, and then the grocer relayed that fans were coming in to order the same drink. Bieber made the partnership official, and in 2023 #HaileyBieberSmoothie fueled $1.7M EMV.
Thanks to girlies like me who cross state lines just to taste the extravagant (and healthy?!) strawberry glaze, the smoothie became a novelty item, inspiring scores of content. Creators such as Priya Sharma shared "the most expensive smoothie" they've had. Meanwhile, musician Becky G announced the release of her "brown girl" smoothie, crafted in homage to horchata. Her six mentions totaled $503.5k EMV.
Surprisingly, the most impactful creator in 2023 was not a celebrity per se, but rather a celebrity chef. Brooke Baevsky, also known as “Chef Bae,” was the smoothie’s No. 1 conversation driver, securing $2.2M EMV for Erewhon, up 643% from 2022. Chef Bae urges her followers to save money by cooking at home using ingredients from Erewhon. She went viral earlier in 2023 for making an ice cream sundae with Erewhon ingredients that cost just over $956. Her jaw-dropping Erewhon content heightened the extravagance embedded in the luxury grocer. Notably, Chef Bae drove the needle by mentioning Erewhon 261 times in 2023, more than any other creator we track, outside of food blogger Rick Lox (275 posts).
Related: Watermelon Glow and Strawberry Glaze: How Glow Recipe and Erewhon Win With Influencer Marketing
Chef Bae was one of three creators to break $1.0M EMV for Erewhon, along with Kora Organics founder and model Miranda Kerr ($1.9M EMV) and personal development expert Jay Shetty ($1.0M EMV).
Erewhon also succeeded in bringing together creators who spoofed its luxury goods with powerhouse creators like Bella Hadid, Jay Shetty, and Alix Earle, who genuinely enjoy the grocery store’s products. Notably, Erewhon’s sponsored content comprised 1% of the EMV we captured during the time period monitored, one of the lowest sponsored rates in the industry.
It's easy to get lost in the swirl of Erewhon's smoothies, but there’s actually more to Erewhon than the smoothies. There's the $32 bouquet of flowers I bought for a friend's short film premiere. There's also...romance?
Erewhon, the Place to Find Your Romantic Match
One of my favorite details about Erewhon is that it ranks among the best places in Los Angeles to find a great [re: wealthy/stable] partner. Other candidates include Soho House, Equinox, and Pasadena. This ranking is, of course, unvetted, but ask other Los Angeles transplants, and I'm sure they’ll agree.
Erewhon Market lived up to its reputation via Shop and Shag, a singles gathering at Erewhon popularized after the COVID-19 pandemic.
I visited Erewhon with the hopes of seeing romance brewing. I had plans to capture a photo of love in the air, and include it in this blog post. Alas, the only spicy happenings was a ginger shot that my throat was so not ready for. But still, a girl can dream.
Though I came up empty on Erewhon romance in action, I bet 2024 will bring us more humorous Erewhon dating content like this.
I Know My Worth, and So Does Kim Kardashian
Anywho, Erewhon is so enmeshed in Southern California culture that it (a grocery store!!!) made the runway. Demna Gvasalia, Balenciaga's creative director, embodied the Los Angeles lifestyle by including Erewhon’s paper bag totes in the December Balenciaga runway show in LA. Donned by none other than Kim Kardashian, the collaboration between Balenciaga and Erewhon represented the expansiveness of the Erewhon brand. Via just two Instagram stories, Kardashian netted $238.5k EMV.
Is Erewhon Worth It?
Erewhon seems to thrive on celebrity buy-in, and then make room for everyone else to partake in the same quotidian luxury. Top Erewhon mentions in 2023 included Jason Mamoa, who hyped the release of Mananalu (his purified water in an aluminum bottle) in Erewhon, among other grocers. Additionally, A-lister Bella Hadid netted $602.5k EMV in 2023 via six posts promoting her own Erewhon smoothie.
The brand garners the most traction via either celebrity endorsements/partnerships or creative food content put together by foodies or critics. Chipotle partner and food critic Keith Lee stitched an Alix Earle Erewhon haul, giving us his signature rating and honest review of some food items ($141.2k EMV via one post).
Related: The Trendsetters Shaping the Future of Influencer Marketing
Keith was less positive than other top creators, pointing out that at Erewhon, you end up paying 3x as much for the same food items at other grocery stores. Keith insists that it's possible to combine healthy foods with a flavorful profile, and for him, he'll stick to Trader Joe's.
In fact, Trader Joe's has been recently getting more traction online for its affordable and easy meal combos, and it's hard to justify Erewhon prices in times like these.
Still, I've never gotten such delight out of going to a grocery store. And our Research & Insights team is even planning on an Erewhon outing for our company trip. That's because in 2023, Erewhon transcended its status as a grocery store—and there's nothing quite like it.
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