Healthy Living Market and CafÌ

What Healthy Living Market and CafÌ does

Healthy Living Market and Café (legal entity Road to Hana, Inc.) is a family-owned, fully independent natural foods supermarket and café chain founded in Vermont in 1986 by Katy Lesser. The business operates three retail locations — a flagship in South Burlington, VT (222 Dorset St, operating since 1986), a Williston, VT store (129 Market St, opened 2020), and a Saratoga Springs, NY store (3065 NY-50) — and has contracted to purchase a fourth site in Shelburne, VT for an 18,000-square-foot market and café. Each store combines a full natural foods supermarket with an integrated café offering hot and cold prepared food bars, fresh on-site sushi, an organic juice and smoothie station, and chef-prepared meals. The product portfolio spans retail grocery (organic and natural packaged goods, produce, meat, dairy, supplements, and body care), prepared foods, custom cakes, event catering, and an online ordering channel branded HL To Go.

The company's offering is built on the most stringent ingredient standards of any grocer in its region, multi-decade relationships with regional hydroponic growers (Finn and Roots, Green Mountain Harvest, Underwood Greenhouse), specialty producers (Collar City Mushrooms, Sisters of Anarchy Ice Cream), and broader local farmer and vendor networks. Marketing is anchored by a content library of more than 1,700 recipes, a blog with producer spotlights and wellness editorial, weekly Best Deals email campaigns, and active social profiles on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. The free Core Shopper loyalty program provides virtual punch cards, digital coupons, exclusive daily deals, and a 10% discount on most sale items, driving repeat traffic.

Revenue is generated primarily through in-store retail transactions across grocery and prepared foods, supplemented by catering and custom cake orders and online orders via HL To Go. Pricing is set per product at the store level; there is no enterprise or SaaS contract structure. The customer base is concentrated in two horizontal consumer segments: health-conscious shoppers seeking natural and organic products, and local Vermont and Upstate New York families seeking a community-oriented neighborhood grocer. Leadership includes founder Katy Lesser, CEO and co-owner Eli Lesser-Goldsmith, VP of Culinary Matt Jennings, and a team of category managers (Produce, Wellness, Grocery) plus an in-house café R&D chef. The company received the Deane Davis Business of the Year Award from Vermont Business Magazine in August 2022 and reported $119,000 donated back to Vermont communities in 2021.

Name

Healthy Living Market and CafÌ

Legal name

Road to Hana, Inc.

Website

https://healthylivingmarket.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Healthy Living Market and Café is a family-owned natural foods supermarket and café chain operating three retail locations in Vermont and New York, offering organic groceries, prepared foods, café items, custom cakes, and catering to health-conscious local consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural Foods Grocery Retail

NAICS

Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers) (44511), Specialty Food Retailers (4452)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural/Organic Supermarkets & Chains (CRAHAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Prepared Foods & Catering-Focused Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAM), Health-Focused Cafes (Organic/Vegan/Wellness) (THAFADAL), Online Specialty Grocery (Organic/Health/Ethnic/Gourmet) (CRAHAIAE)

Keywords

• Natural foods grocery
• Organic supermarket retail
• Prepared foods café
• Specialty food retail
• Local sourcing groceries

Headquarters

HQ city

South Burlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Grocery Sales: Revenue generated from selling natural, organic, and health-focused food products across all store locations. Includes packaged goods, fresh produce, meat, dairy, and specialty items sourced to meet stringent ingredient standards.
2. Prepared Foods & Café: Revenue from freshly prepared hot and cold foods, salads, sushi, smoothies, and other café items sold at store locations.
3. Catering & Custom Cakes: Custom cake ordering and full-service catering for events, generating one-time and recurring transaction revenue.
4. Core Shopper Loyalty Program: The Core Shopper program provides virtual punch cards, digital coupons, exclusive daily deals, and 10% off most sale items. The program drives repeat customer visits and incremental spending.
5. E-commerce (HL To Go): Online ordering platform for store pickup and potentially delivery, covering grocery, prepared foods, and specialty items.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Healthy Living Market & Café operates full-service natural and organic grocery stores with integrated cafés at three locations in Vermont and New York, selling fresh produce, meat, dairy, packaged natural foods, and prepared foods. Complementing the in-store experience are the HL To Go online ordering platform, the Core Shopper loyalty program, custom cake ordering, and event catering services for individuals and local families.

Product overview

Healthy Living Market & Café is a family-owned natural foods grocery chain operating multiple retail locations across Vermont and New York. The company offers a unified retail experience combining full-service supermarket operations with an integrated café serving prepared foods, fresh sushi, and organic juices. The core product portfolio includes in-store shopping across multiple locations, the HL To Go online shopping platform, the Core Shopper loyalty rewards program, custom cake and catering services, and an in-house prepared foods program featuring chef-created meals and signature recipes. The HL Café component provides hot and cold prepared food bars, fresh sushi, and smoothie stations, while the online platform enables convenient ordering and shopping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Healthy Living Market & Café: Primary retail brand for natural foods supermarket and café operations.
• Core Shopper Program
• Healthy Living To Go
• Healthy Living Custom Cakes
• Healthy Living Catering

Products and services

• Healthy Living Market & Café (In-Store Retail) Full-service natural foods supermarket with an integrated café operating at three locations in South Burlington, VT (flagship), Williston, VT, and Saratoga Springs, NY, offering fresh produce, meats, dairy, packaged natural and organic products, hot and cold prepared foods, fresh sushi, organic juice and smoothie stations, and specialty items for individual and household consumers.
• HL To Go (Online Shopping) Proprietary e-commerce storefront at healthylivingtogo.com enabling customers to browse products, view pricing, and order grocery items, prepared foods, and specialty items online for in-store pickup and delivery from Healthy Living's three Vermont and New York locations.
• Core Shopper Loyalty Program Free loyalty rewards program providing virtual punch cards, digital coupons, exclusive daily deals, and 10% off most sale items for registered shoppers identified by phone number or loyalty card. Members receive targeted email communications and in-store rewards.
• Healthy Living Custom Cakes Custom cake ordering service allowing customers to order personalized cakes for special occasions such as birthdays and weddings, prepared in-store at Healthy Living's bakery.
• Healthy Living Catering Full-service catering for events and gatherings, featuring made-in-house creations including taco dinner kits, margarita mix, and specialty desserts, ordered through Healthy Living's three retail locations.
• HL Café Prepared Foods In-store prepared foods program offering hot and cold prepared food bars, fresh sushi prepared on-site, organic juice and smoothie station, and chef-prepared meals for in-store diners and takeaway customers across Healthy Living's three locations.

Quantifiable outcome

• $119,000 donated back to Vermont communities in 2021

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Carroll Family (Lot #6 Rice Lumber redevelopment)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2019Agreement with the Carroll family to purchase Lot #6 of the Rice Lumber redevelopment in Shelburne, VT for the construction of a new 18,000-square-foot Healthy Living market and café.
• Town of Shelburne (Fire and Rescue Station)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2019Healthy Living partnered with the Town of Shelburne to co-locate a new fire and rescue station on the same lot as the planned Shelburne store location, benefiting the local community while enabling the retail expansion.
• Finn and RootscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYear-round hydroponic produce partner growing artisan lettuce mix, green oak lettuce, and other greens in Bakersfield, VT. The partnership enables consistent, local, sustainably sourced produce supply year-round. Healthy Living features this producer in local signage and product spotlights.
• Green Mountain HarvestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal hydroponic grower in Waitsfield, VT supplying local green leaf lettuce and Genovese basil to Healthy Living stores, part of the retailer's commitment to supporting Vermont hydroponic producers.
• Underwood Greenhouse (Shushan Valley Hydro Farm)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHydroponic greenhouse supplier in Shushan, NY providing sweet basil and other greens to Healthy Living stores, contributing to the company's local sourcing and sustainability commitments.
• Collar City MushroomscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndoor urban vertical mushroom farm in Troy, NY supplying fresh gourmet and nutraceutical mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, lion's mane). The partnership was visited and showcased by Healthy Living's Produce and Wellness category managers as part of local sourcing efforts.
• Sisters of Anarchy Ice CreamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal ice cream producer in Shelburne, VT growing fruit (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, grapes) on-site at Fisher Brothers Farm. Healthy Living features their products including the Anger Manage-mint flavor and hosts in-store tasting events.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Natural Grocers: Natural Grocers is a publicly traded natural and organic grocery chain with a similar mission of stringent ingredient standards, prepared foods, and supplement assortments, operating a multi-store footprint largely distinct from Healthy Living's territory but addressing identical customer needs.
• Mustard Seed Market & Cafe: Mustard Seed is an independent natural foods grocer and integrated café in Ohio, with a comparable business model (health-focused grocery plus prepared foods and café seating) and similar family-owned independent positioning.
• New Seasons Market: New Seasons is a regional natural foods grocery chain with integrated cafés and prepared foods, very similar in operating concept and product curation to Healthy Living Market & Café.

Broad incumbents

• Trader Joe's: Trader Joe's is a national specialty grocer offering curated natural and premium foods at value pricing. Its private-label, health-adjacent product mix overlaps with Healthy Living's middle-of-store assortment.
• Wegmans: Wegmans is a large Northeastern supermarket chain with a strong natural/organic assortment, full-service prepared foods, in-store cafés, and an in-house catering program—directly comparable to Healthy Living's in-store experience on a much larger scale.
• Sprouts Farmers Market: Sprouts is a large specialty/natural grocer with 400+ stores offering fresh produce, supplements, and prepared foods. It targets the same health-conscious shopper as Healthy Living but at substantially greater scale and lower price points.
• Whole Foods Market: Whole Foods is the benchmark natural/organic supermarket chain, operated by Amazon, with curated standards, prepared foods, and café offerings. It competes with Healthy Living at the premium end of the same category though at vastly greater scale.

Regional players

• Hannaford: Hannaford is a major Northeastern supermarket chain headquartered in Maine that competes directly with Healthy Living in Vermont and Upstate New York, with growing organic and natural assortments and store-brand healthy lines.
• Co-op Food Stores (Hanover Co-op): Hanover Co-op and similar New England food co-ops operate community-owned natural foods grocery stores with prepared foods and strong local sourcing, directly comparable in mission and assortment to Healthy Living's stores in Vermont and New Hampshire-adjacent markets.

Emerging players

• Lucky's Market: Prior to its 2020 contraction, Lucky's Market operated as a small-format natural foods grocer with prepared foods and cafés—structurally similar in concept to Healthy Living, though serving different geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HealthyLivingMovies
• Facebookfacebook.com/healthylivingmarket
• Instagraminstagram.com/healthy.living.market
• TikToktiktok.com/@healthy.living.grocery
• Xx.com/healthylivingvt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Healthy Living Market and CafÌ