Convenient and Affordable: The Best Online Organic Stores
Wanting to benefit from the convenience of online grocery shopping? But still looking to prioritize organic produce and natural ingredients?
This post dives into my favorite (and not so favorite) online grocery shopping options to help nourish your family holistically!
Having high-quality whole foods and fresh produce on hand are some of the foundations of a healthy lifestyle. I used to love wandering down the aisles of the grocery store or farmers markets picking up organic produce and finding new natural products to try. But I feel like over the last few years we have seen online grocery shopping become much more common!
I had never ordered groceries online or used an online store until after I had my daughter. I quickly learned that grocery shopping was not as easy as it once was when you are simultaneously working around nap time. And to be honest, once I made the transition to getting groceries delivered (or at the very least, ordered for pickup) grocery shopping hasn't been the same!
These are my favorite online resources to make grocery shopping more convenient and affordable (while still prioritizing healthy options!)
Misfits Market
Did you know that nearly half of the produce grown and harvested in the United States is never eaten?
This is a mostly organic store that gives extended life to produce. Oftentimes there is great quality produce that is slightly misshapen, or not the correct size to be sold in the traditional grocery stores. Misfit Market then takes these "rejects" (that are still perfectly healthy!) and sells them at low prices. Not only does this limit food waste, but it allows you to get high quality groceries at competitive prices.
While they originally were only produce, they have since expanded into other organic food items as well. They regularly have great prices on whole organic chickens, eggs, and other healthy groceries!
How does it work?
When you sign up, you choose the subscription you want depending on how frequently you want a box of groceries. Then they give you a designated shopping day and a deadline on when to submit your order by. Whether or not you fill out your preferences, you will receive an order- they will just choose the produce for you.
The pros
reduce food waste
competitive prices on organic goods
convenience of having groceries shipped right to your door!
The cons
While I love the idea of this, I feel like it makes it slightly harder to buy organic food online when I have to shop and submit my orders on a specific time frame. I also don't love that if you don't fill out your preferences in time, you end up getting a random box. The several times this has happened to me I have ended up with odds and end produce that I do not typically use. I felt rushed to give it away before I had to throw it out- which defeated the whole purpose of reducing food waste to begin with.
This was also very much a me issue. If you set a reminder on your phone, you could easily create a rhythm of ordering on a specific day. It just wasn't something I have been able to integrate into our schedule to make it worth continuing a subscription. 🤷🏻♀️
It's kind of (really) a hassle to lessen or cancel your subscription. Actually, as far as I know currenltly, you cannot fully cancel your subscription. Instead you go to plan where you only shop when you want to. My account has been set to that for the last couple of months and every time I have thought of it to go on and order some groceries, I have found that it's not yet "my time to order".
The produce and groceries that are available are always changing, so it is hard being able to get into a set routine and knowing what you will be able to find.
If you are interested in trying out Misfits Market, this link will save you $10 off your first order!
Imperfect Foods
As of last fall, Misfit Market announced they acquired Imperfect Foods. I have never personally used the Imperfect Foods service, but from what I can gather, it is pretty much the exact same set up as Misfits Market.
Thrive Market
If you have been around this blog before, you know I am a big fan of Thrive Market and my family has used it regularly over the last few years. In my opinion it is one of the best online health food stores because of their variety of high quality, natural products.
If you are unfamiliar with Thrive Market, basically it is an online grocery store with an annual membership fee. They source all the best natural foods and organic snacks at affordable prices, and then ship those items directly to your door!
The Pros
You can shop by specialized diet requirements like whole 30, vegan, and keto, or even based on food allergies. When my daughter was younger we avoided anything with gluten and having everything sorted for you without having to check every single label really was so helpful!
the online store carries a wide range of products including pantry staples, freezer items, household products, health supplements, beauty products, and health snacks. They also have a great selection of organic products for babies and toddlers
For any order over $49, you automatically get free shipping. How I make this work for my family is throughout the month I add items that we need or are running low on into my cart. Then at the end of the month i am usually over that amount and will place my order.
Another fun perk is that you get a free monthly gift with your order. The options for the gift are always different things and it is a fun way to try out new products. Some of the things I have gotten as the free gift are mineral sunscreen, assorted teas, drinks, snack bars, and tallow-based lotion.
Great customer service! A few months ago I noticed that something had leaked in the box during shipping. I reached out to customer service, let them know what was damaged, and they sent me the damaged items the very next day plus added a $5 credit to my account for the hassle.
You can create auto ship orders for even more savings! For any item on auto ship, you save an additional 5% in Thrive cash (which you can put directly towards your next order). This is so convenient for the things that you know you will use every couple of months- like shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, etc.
They are always having deals running! Sometimes it will be 20% off household cleaners, or 15% off snack items. They keep you up to date on the sales via email and it’s just another way they help keep the prices competitive.
The Cons
While they do carry a wide range of products, they currently do not carry any fresh produce or dairy products
There are order minimums for both a grocery box AND a frozen box (if you are ordering frozen items too!) and they do not count towards one another.
Is the annual fee actually worth it?
To be completely honest, it took me a couple of months to sign up for thrive market. I doubted that the prices would really be that competitive with my local grocery store, or that it would actually save my family money. What finally convinced me was Thrive Markets garauntee which states if you do not save the equivalent of your membership fee, they will credit your account the difference!
You are also able to submit a price adjustment if you find the same product somewhere else at a better price.
So really, between the garauntee and the price match, the annual membership fee will save you money.
Shopping this link will save you 40% off your first purchase (up to $40!) and a free gift in your order!
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Public Goods
You can try out this online marketplace with a 2 week free membership before needing to commit and sign up. Unlike some of the other sites listed that are primarily an organic grocery store, this marketplace mainly focuses on the sustainability of products.
They carry household goods, plants, home goods and decor, as well as groceries!
The Pros
Strong focus on sustainability
Great value for their items. From the options I have tried, I have been impressed with the quality and price point they have set. I do feel like they offer good options at a discounted rate from what you would find at an organic grocery store or co-op.
The cons
You are not able to shop your favorite brands to healthy snacks and groceries. Instead, you are purchasing products that are all Public Goods brand. While the ones I have tried have been good, I would rather shop the brands that are our favorite.
The annual membership fee is $79 annually. You do get two weeks of a free membership trial initially, but the full annual fee doesn’t seem justified to me at this point.
Amazon Fresh | Whole Foods Market
If you are an Amazon Prime member, you are able to shop the non-perishable goods online from Amazon to be shipped to your home. These orders are supplied and fulfilled through Whole Foods. This means you are also able to order your fresh and frozen groceries through the same webpage, those ones will just be available for drive-up pickup at your local Whole Foods store.
The Pros
most people are already familiar with the amazon shopping interface, and ordering groceries through them is no different
Many popular brands are easy to find
The several times I have ordered through this and scheduled a pickup for Whole Foods, they have been able to get my order in within just a couple of hours! Great for last minute items you need for dinner.
The Cons
Similarly to shopping in person at Whole Foods, the prices tend to be more expensive
Unlike some of the other online organic markets that have more of a focus on sustainability and lowering waste, I will often get products through amazon shipping with excessive amounts of packaging
The two-hour delivery fee is $9.95. While it can be great if you are in a time crunch, it would add up quickly!
Hungry Root
This is a newer website to me! It is basically a recipe and grocery planner that does the work for you. To start out, you fill out a quiz about your likes and preferences and how many meals you want in your weekly delivery. (you can choose between breakfast. lunches, dinners, sweets, and snacks or a combination of any of them)
Then you can opt in and out of the recommendations that they filled your cart with.
The pros
does all the planning for you! No need to worry about having all the ingredients for the meals, they get everything aligned for you.
The meals are between 10-20 minutes of prep and cooking!
all organic, high-quality ingredients
The cons
The price per serving is usually around $9-10. While this is cheaper than eating out, I also feel like it is more expensive than the meals I would plan for my family on my own. But that is also part of the cost of convenience and not having to plan out dinners 🤷🏻♀️
Check your local grocery store for online options
Most grocery stores came up with some type of curbside pickup process after the pandemic. Even my local co-op came up with an option to order select things online! If you love the convenience of ordering and picking up, rather than going into the store, see if your local grocery store has an option like this!
Pro Tip: I often find myself with 2-3 web pages open simultaneously while grocery shopping. This allows me to easily price check from different sources and make sure I am getting the best deal! Then I submit my orders for either delivery or grocery pickup and am set!
I also love when these online stores have an option to "save" your grocery list. If you have set staples that your family loves to have on hand week after week, you can easily save your grocery list for future orders. This has saved me so much money in grocery shopping over time because it cuts out any impulse purchases!
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