“The Raise the Bar members have long been a community of independent retailers that share, explore, question, and learn from one another’s experiences in managing their respective stores,” said Keith Trimble, Executive Director, RTB and Owner, Village Market. “We feel our value proposition around peer sharing and leveraging best practices strongly aligns with INFRA’s mission of ‘strengthening our members through collaboration to forge a sustainable future’ and are thrilled to have found a community with shared values.”
The members, all based in California, include Encinal Market, Harvest Market, Molsberry’s Market, Oceana Market, Pacific Market, Palace Market, Piazza's Fine Foods, Real Food Company, Seaside Market, Sunshine Foods Market, Surf Market, and Village Market.
"When we created RTB we were creating a community of grocers to better serve our employees and customers through collaboration,” Trimble continued. “We shared hardship and successes to lift our store to the highest levels of the industry. Our employees and customers supported us and benefitted from our growth. To further that growth, we are excited to continue our collaboration with INFRA. In INFRA we have found a partner that seeks to do the same things RTB does; create opportunities for retail grocers to be the best version of themselves!"
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INFRA now represents 300 Members and 15 Associate Retailers with over 480 storefronts located in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, with combined representative annual sales of over $2 billion.“We are delighted to welcome this group of independent natural food retailers and their communities into the INFRA family,” said Pat Sheridan, President & CEO, INFRA. “We have created a best-in-class purchasing and services cooperative and this growth further strengthens our voice in the industry, while enabling RTB’s former members full access to INFRA’s spectrum of purchasing and service solutions including supply agreements, national promotional programs, education, nationwide sharing & educational events, and retail consulting.”
