Foxtrot adding 50 stores in next 2 years
Foxtrot is expanding from a dozen locations in Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C., to adding 50 more locations in the next two years, adding New York, Austin, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles and Houston to its list of cities.
The expansion comes on the heels of the Chicago-based retailer raising $42 million from a funding round to expand its private brand business, as well as hiring former Whole Foods executive Mitch Madoff to build out the program.
"Our private label represents the core of what we love at Foxtrot — finding and developing the most delicious products from all corners of the culinary universe, and delivering them right to our customers' doors," said Mike LaVitola, CEO and co-founder of Foxtrot, when hiring Madoff and Tae Strain from Momofuku to work on developing store brand items. "We're thrilled to welcome Mitch and Chef Tae, who together bring world class culinary talent and passion to our version of convenience. We are excited to set a new standard for what customers can expect out of their local market."
The retailer considers itself the future of convenience, focusing on an e-commerce strategy that enables items to be picked up in as little as 5 minutes, and a brick-and-mortar advantage focusing on private label and locally sourced goods. The retailer said 40% of its assortment is small and local businesses and more than a third of its sales come from private brands.
Sister publication Progressive Grocer toured Foxtrot and photos highlight the private brands such as Foxtrot Market spreads and jams.
Foxtrot is backed by investors like Blue Hill at Stone Barns’ David Barber, celebrity chef David Chang, former Whole Foods CEO, Walter Robb, and Sweetgreen co-founder Nicolas Jammet.
The retailer said it was digitally capable before the pandemic, so during the height of COVID-19, the company doubled sales and have managed to maintain that growth since a return to in-person shopping. Retail is up 100%, year over year, and online sales are up 22%, year over year, the retailer told Store Brands.
Foxtrot’s mission is to curate culinary trends not found in competitive convenience stores and markets, according to the company, focusing on culinary-forward, grab-and-go food, along with packaged private label and an extensive collection of wine (more than 200 bottles).