Independent Canadian grocer shares expansion plan

Farm Boy, a small Canadian market boasting a large private brand presence, has announced the opening of 10 new stores that will roll out over the course of 2020 and 2021. Beyond that, the company hopes to double in size by 2023.

After the 10 stores open, Farm Boy will be operating 37 total markets, and key to those stores is its more than 800 namesake private brand products that include frozen entrees, snack chips, cheeses, spreads, pasta, organic coconut water, seafood and more.

Stores can mostly be found in the Ottawa and Toronto areas and range in size from 12,000 to 38,000 square feet. Each location hosts a 60-foot Farm Boy Salad Bar and a Farm Boy Kitchen that focuses on prepared foods made from scratch.

The market pales in comparison to the Canadian grocery retailers Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (with its nearly 2,500 stores) and Sobeys Inc. (with its 1,900 stores), but according to market researcher Statista, in the Quebec region alone, independent food retailers amassed $15 billion Canadian dollars worth of sales, not all that far off from chain food stores.

The independent chain began in 1981 and has won “Best Customer Experience” in Ontario for two years in a row, per the Leger “Wow Customer Experience Index.”