The world has changed a lot in 50 years, but at Cambridge Naturals, one thing has remained constant: “Our mission is to provide the best choices in natural wellness products—nutritional supplements, clean body care, organ
ic foods, and healthy lifestyle supplies—and offer an amazing customer experience to our local community,” shares Emily Kanter, CEO and second generation co-owner at Cambridge Naturals. “We are committed to sourcing products locally, organically, and ethically via fair trade and direct trade channels, and to donating a portion of our profits to social and environmental organizations that impact our community. As part of our vision for a more just, equitable and sustainable world, we strive to partner with businesses owned by women and historically marginalized folks. Our mission has been largely consistent over our 50-plus years in business. My parents founded the store in 1974 with the health of people and the planet at the forefront of our every decision, and that purpose has carried us forward ever since.”
When asked what mindset has helped Cambridge Naturals reach its 50-year milestone this year, Emily describes a sort of dogged perseverance. “To my knowledge, we have always remained nimble and scrappy, even as we’ve grown and expanded over the years. We never rest on our laurels—even wonderful ones like Retailer of the Year!—and we always focus on how we can improve in everything from our product selection to our business practices to our commitments to equity and social responsibility. My father, the co-founder of Cambridge Naturals, likes to say ‘Businesses are like babies, they always need changing.’ We are ready to adapt and evolve as needed to meet the moment.”
The History of Cambridge Naturals
It was 1974 when Michael Kanter and Elizabeth Stagl, fresh out of college, set out to make a difference (and earn a living). “My father had long been passionate about the connection between natural foods and social justice—seeing how the way our food is grown, harvested, and processed directly impacts the health of both people and the planet,” Emily shares. “At the time, there was very little ‘industry’ to speak of, and stores like Cambridge Naturals are often heralded as leaders of the burgeoning natural products movement. There were times in the early years that my father would nearly fall asleep at the register, waiting for the next customer to arrive! But we quickly became a mainstay, and our customer base expanded as more people learned about the benefits of healthy and organic foods. Over time, the industry grew and so did our business.”
Of course, over 50 years there will be rough spots, and lessons learned the hard way. Success isn’t only measured in wins, though—it is also measured in how one responds to setbacks. Being flexible, adaptable, and willing to make U-turns to give the business what it needs, when it needs it, involves tough calls, and the Kanters made a big one fairly early on. In the early days, Cambridge Naturals was a full-line natural foods store, and also had a juice bar and freshly made soups and sandwiches. Then, demonstrating the scrappiness that has made the positive difference, the store shifted with the times.
“In the late 90s, after facing intense competition from big box retailers and the shift of consumer shopping habits, my parents decided to close the grocery portion of the business and focus on supplements, body care, books, and lifestyle supplies, with a strong emphasis on staff training and education to make us the top destination for health and wellness,” Emily explains.
It wasn’t an easy decision. “When my parents closed the grocery portion of their business, some of their customers were up in arms—no matter that many of them shopped primarily at Whole Foods and would only swing by to grab a couple of items at a time...I learned a lot from watching them bravely and boldly make many, many tough decisions over the years, and that has significantly influenced my approach to running our business.”
As Emily recounts, though her parents may have questioned the call to limit grocery, it ultimately proved to be the right decision. Refocusing the business was successful, and in 2006 Cambridge Naturals relocated to the Porter Square Shopping Center, which was a strip-mall turned vibrant community hub that houses other local independent businesses. Today, that location operates out of 3,500 square feet (2,700 retail space) and has 30 to 35 employees depending on the season. 
Never one to stagnate, though, the Kanters continued to meet the moment. “My dad’s heart was always in the grocery business, so we have gradually added more curated grocery products back into our selection over the years, to the happiness of our customers and our team!”
Second-Generation Success
“When my husband Caleb [Dean] and I moved back to the Boston area in 2014 to get involved with Cambridge Naturals, we had just received our MBAs and were full of ideas,” Emily recalls. “My parents were very clear that we should learn and grow on the job, and part of that was allowing us the space and freedom to make our own mistakes. They shared their wisdom and guidance, and we had many passionate discussions weighing the various pros and cons, but ultimately they wanted us to try things out for ourselves and see what worked—and what didn’t—and to learn from that experience. That support and trust was invaluable, and has made me a more confident and strategic decision-maker, and I’ve tried to take a similar approach with our team.”
Finding the Sweet Spot
After growing double-digits year-over-year for several years, the Cambridge Naturals team was ready to expand. “We took a big risk and opened a second location in Boston, in a newly developed neighborhood that was still under construction,” Emily says. “We were fortunate to have a lot of support from customers who lived on that side of the river and loved our business." 
Soon, though, the location’s challenges presented themselves. "Once the pandemic hit…and the offices nearby emptied out…we struggled to keep the location afloat," Emily recalls. "Despite an enormous amount of effort on the part of our team, and the generosity of our landlord, we realized that it wasn’t going to be a viable business in the timeframe we needed it to be. We closed that location in early 2024, allowing us to focus our energy and creativity on our Cambridge location and on the possibility of future growth and expansion.”
Team Makes the Difference
“Within our team, we try to put an emphasis on growth and personal development, as well as leaning heavily into our core values: Compassion, Curiosity, Collective Mindset, Consistency and Courage,” Emily says. “In recent years we have really tried to make Cambridge Naturals a place that those who wish to can grow within, creating new roles and responsibilities, and adding new benefits to retain great employees. We’re a small operation, but recently we hired a wonderful Director of People Operations to help us really invest in these areas. We will always have a long way to go, but it’s been an exciting few years!”
Rose Cheyette, Director of People Operations, points to growth opportunities as a bright spot. “I appreciate how much we promote from within as opposed to always hiring from outside. Whether it’s elevating someone into a Shift Lead or Manager position, utilizing someone’s existing skills and drive to try out buying, or engaging someone’s interests and motivation to be involved in projects and tasks, it feels good being able to utilize our existing team, and all the experience and interests they have to help fill gaps we have or a need that is being unmet.”
That approach has fostered loyalty in a retail environment that is known for staffing challenges. Take Zachary Milligan-Pate, Chief Operations Officer, who has worked at Cambridge Naturals for 12 years, overseeing Operations infrastructure as well as supporting the team in most facets of the business, from troubleshooting fridges and computer servers to helping customers, working the cash register, doing light purchasing, and more. “I was originally drawn to Cambridge Naturals because of the opportunities to learn and grow while working for a dynamic local business,” Milligan-Pate shares. “The natural products industry is such an amazing place and from the moment I stepped foot in the store, I was hooked. I already had a personal interest in health and in environmentalism, so Cambridge Naturals was a perfect fit. Every day at the store is built on learning, growing, and helping customers and coworkers alike with whatever they need.”
Another longtime employee, Victoria Sargsyan, Events and Community Partnerships Manager, has been with the company for nine years. “After college I got interested in herbal medicine, and this was the only place that had a wall of bulk herbs around the area, and a plethora of tinctures. I was happily surprised that the retail environment could fulfill my needs of working with plants and being able to exercise my skills in business.“
Cheyette was familiar with Cambridge Naturals and its fabulous reputation, since she was a local and a customer before signing on three years ago. “Many of my past jobs involved interfacing with different groups across different local communities, which I enjoyed but it prevented me from building more in-depth and longer-lasting working relationships. In joining Cambridge Naturals in this role, I was excited to be able to work with, get to know, and support a core group of team members, all while experiencing a completely different kind of industry.”
Putting that into action: “The last two years I have spearheaded our team taking field trips to a number of local brands we work with,” Cheyette says. “The goal was to learn more about products we sell, meet the people behind the brands, see the products being created in action, and for team members to be able to spend time with one another in a totally different setting than being in the store. The field trips were really fun and I got good feedback about how enjoyable and educational these trips were. I plan to continue organizing these yearly for the team!”
3 Keys to Attracting and Retaining Customers
Years ago, Emily heard a creative director, Alfredo Mucino, describe the three things a brick-and-mortar business must be to attract and retain customers. A store must be:
- A theater (surprise, delight, and entertain)
- A laboratory (a sensory experience)
- A town square (a place where people gather and mingle in community).
“That stuck with me and spoke directly to the type of environment and customer experience that my parents had organically created all along, and so we’ve continued to double down on that over the years!” Emily says. Just how do they accomplish this? Staffers share some of their favorite initiatives:
“One of my favorite initiatives is when we do Give Back Days, offering a percentage of daily sales to local nonprofits and community organizations whose missions align with our own in areas like social justice, environmental issues, and community services,” says Milligan-Pate. “People shopping with us are already supporting products and brands that are better for them, for their community, and/or for society but on Give Back Days we get to support local organizations in whatever positive things they're working on. Customers and staff get excited about supporting the organization and events like these can be great reminders that it's not just about selling products.
For Sargsyan, the affordability and accessibility of the store’s bulk herbs section is a standout feature. “It invites a diverse customer base into the store, and creates a sense of community one can't find in any stores in the area. It is so pleasant to see a group of folk, gathered together by the bulk herbs table, exchanging ideas and knowledge with one another. It also creates the opportunity for someone who cannot afford a $50+ bottle of a supplement, to try it in a raw material form. Cambridge Naturals often will donate a portion of our sales to a local non-profit, and we get to meet the people that work at those organizations, so to hear their gratitude feels very meaningful.”
Cheyette adds another highlight: “Many of our team members recently engaged in a project to tag and label every item we sell that is local (locally made, sourced, etc.). Then, we made it so that all of our receipts print the amount spent in each purchase on local products. It was cool to see some of the behind-the-scenes work that went into this...to see it appear on our shelves and on our receipts was exciting. I’ve heard customers comment on this and how cool it is!”
Milligan-Pate adds, “A less glamorous but equally interesting initiative is when we decided to use an online project management tool with our whole staff…I know, boring admin stuff, right? But actually it allowed our whole team to be more involved in all facets of the business. Things moved quicker, the staff felt more agency, and even customer product suggestions had a more immediate impact. By sharing more information quickly and broadly within the team, I’ve seen our store grow in a multitude of ways.”
An initiative that is a bit more glam comes from Sargsyan. Emily explains, "Our emphasis is on price-accessible events with a focus on health and wellbeing, but that can be expansive. For example, we’re co-hosting a 'Read & Relax Party' with mocktails in September, perfect for introverts who want a dose of connection! We’ve held hundreds of classes, on our own, as well as with local partners, and especially in recent years they’ve increased in popularity. I think people are hungry for in-person engagement and community building. There’s only so much time we can spend on Zoom!
At the heart of it all: customer service. “Our emphasis on customer service is a huge part of how we support our community," Emily says. "As simple as it sounds—in this day and age, there are so few places you can just walk into (without an appointment, or even frankly without buying something!) and talk to someone who will listen and do their best to help you find what you need. We take that responsibility seriously and believe that creating this space for customers is, yes, a business model—but also a community service. Ultimately, as a local business, we are a part of this community. My parents and Caleb and I live locally, and so (of course) does our team. We shop at other local businesses, we pay taxes locally, and we care deeply about local issues. Our customers know this, and we’ve been fortunate to build a sense of connection and camaraderie with so, so many of them.”
A shining example of this connection: “This is a relatively micro moment, in the grand scheme of things, but I think it speaks to how important our local community is to us,” Emily says. “In a particularly tough moment in the pandemic, we reached out to our customers to share more about certain challenges we were facing, and how it was impacting our team members. One customer contacted me directly to share how much our business meant to her and to ask how she could support us. Within a day, she had dropped off a large check that we turned into meals + coffees + teas for our team. In that moment, it was clear to me that we weren’t alone in this—that so many of our customers wanted to be there for us as we had been there for them. It reminded me not to be afraid to share both the ups and the downs with our community, and to trust them to respond with kindness and compassion.”
Looking Ahead
What does the future hold for Cambridge Naturals? Emily has goals, but will remain nimble, and continue to build relationships that fuel success. “We have partnered with hundreds of local organizations over the years and in particular with a couple dozen key mission-aligned partners,” she shares. “They promote our work, they personally shop in our store, they sing our praises to their community members, and that all helps our business thrive. We’ve also really emphasized relationships with our brokers, reps and brands—they’re not simply vendors but true partners in our success.”
INFRA has been an especially key partner, and will continue to be in the future. “Being a part of INFRA has truly been a game changer for Cambridge Naturals. The camaraderie alone makes it worth every penny. It can be so lonely being an independent retailer these days and the community that INFRA provides is astounding. On any given day I can ask a question about a tough challenge we’re facing, or an opportunity we’re exploring, to 350+ other indies and get at least a dozen fantastic responses. And as an organization, INFRA has repeatedly gone to bat for independents and helped us to level the playing field. We truly wouldn’t be able to be competitive without INFRA."
As for goals: “Right now we’re in the process of doubling-down on what makes our Porter Square location thrive—that truly joyful and inviting shopping experience with an incredible product selection," Emily says. "We have a couple of very exciting partnerships in the works (that I can’t name yet!) that will hopefully help our business grow and expand, and we’re also working on new ways to incorporate transparency into our team growth and development.”
The bottom line for Cambridge Naturals, and Emily's advice for fellow independents: “We have to remain open to new ideas, new information, and new ways of operating as businesses. The world has changed dramatically from when we opened our doors in 1974, and will continue to do so. We can’t be afraid to grow and evolve with the times, whether that’s through new technologies or new ways of supporting our team members. And, at the same time, we should continue to lean into the core values and missions that have made our businesses so important to our communities—that emphasis on people, planet and purpose continues to help us stand out amongst the competition.”
