Nature's Fare Markets' new flagship in Chilliwack, Canada shows how health, pharmacy, foodservice and expertise can be combined into a single supermarket proposition.
What happens when a supermarket is built around health?
Nature's Fare Markets' newest store is not its first, but it may be its most important. As the eighth location in the chain, the new Chilliwack, Canada store represents a significant evolution of the concept, bringing together grocery, pharmacy, wellness services and foodservice in its largest format to date.
The opening also comes as health becomes a larger strategic priority for many food retailers. In IGD's Global Retail Trends 2026, we highlighted how retailers are moving beyond selling healthier products to supporting a broader range of health and wellbeing missions through products, services, expertise and partnerships. This store brings this to life, highlighting how health is becoming a store strategy rather than a category strategy.
From departments to a proposition
Most retailers already offer multiple health-related categories. Pharmacies, wellness ranges, gluten-free products, vitamins and supplements, natural beauty and healthier eating options are hardly new. The challenge is that these elements are often available in different parts of the store.
What stood out during my visit to Pattison Food Group’s Nature's Fare Markets was how effectively the store brings these elements together into a single proposition. It also feels more mainstream than many health-focused concepts. Shoppers can complete a full weekly shop, browse a substantial fresh offer, visit the pharmacy, sit down for a coffee, purchase a smoothie, pick up lunch from the bistro or discover specialist products throughout the store.
The produce department is entirely organic, while extensive gluten-free and specialist ranges sit alongside a substantial wellness department covering supplements, personal care and natural health solutions. There is also a strong emphasis on discovery, encouraging shoppers to explore new brands, ingredients and products across the store.
When health becomes a store strategy
The larger footprint has allowed Nature's Fare Markets to go beyond expanding the product range. One of the most significant additions is a Pure Integrative Pharmacy. Located within the store, it sits alongside wellness services, supplements, nutrition expertise and grocery.
Education is another important part of the model. Wellness specialists, nutrition experts and pharmacy professionals work alongside a conventional grocery team. Expertise is visible within the store, supporting shoppers who want to discover products, ask questions or explore a wider range of health solutions.
Foodservice also plays a central role. The bistro includes made-to-order sandwiches, fresh bowls, soups and salads, alongside coffee, smoothies and juices. There is also a large seating area. This extends the role of the store beyond grocery shopping and into everyday eating occasions.
Taken individually, none of these features is unique. Organic produce, pharmacies, foodservice, supplements and specialist staff can already be found across the industry. What is different is the way they have been put together. Health influences fresh food, prepared food, foodservice, pharmacy, wellness, staffing and product discovery rather than sitting within one part of the store.
The strategic takeaway
This store also exposes a structural challenge in how many grocery businesses approach health. Pharmacy, foodservice, beauty, wellness and grocery are often managed by different teams, measured against different targets and developed through separate investment plans. Even when a retailer already owns many of the capabilities required to build a broader health proposition, its operating model can make connecting them difficult.
Treating health as a store strategy would require much more than changes to ranging or merchandising. It could require new thinking around format, space allocation, services, staffing, partnerships and the role of foodservice. Retailers would also need to decide which health missions they are equipped to support rather than stretching a generic wellness message across the business. Nature's Fare Markets provides one example of how those decisions can be connected for shoppers.
The next phase of health retailing may be less about adding more health categories and more about changing how existing capabilities are organised. For many retailers, the opportunity may already be sitting inside the business. The harder question is whether the organisation is set up to bring it together.