Sunset Foods

What Sunset Foods does

Sunset Foods (legal entity Sunset Food Mart, Inc.) is a family-owned neighborhood supermarket chain founded in 1937 and headquartered in Highland Park, Illinois. The company operates seven grocery locations across the North Shore Chicago suburbs: five under the Sunset Foods banner in Highland Park, Northbrook, Lake Forest, Libertyville, and Long Grove, and two under the wholly-owned Grand Food Center banner in Winnetka and Glencoe. Each store carries standard grocery departments (meat, seafood, produce, deli, bakery, grocery/dairy/frozen) and several feature in-store dining concepts (Libertyville Sandwich Werks, Northbrook Grill, BeriGood Acai Bowls).

The business monetizes through multiple transaction-fee revenue streams: in-store retail, the proprietary eGrocer online ordering platform offering curbside pickup and same-day delivery, third-party delivery through Instacart, full-service catering for events, and prepared-food/dining operations. Marketing and customer engagement run through a weekly email newsletter, blog content, Facebook and Instagram, an events calendar (Hatch Chile Fest, Copper River Salmon, Maine Lobster, Caviar & Bubbles), and the Glow Rewards loyalty program. Technology is not a differentiator; the digital stack is built on the eGrocer ecommerce platform, a SideChef-powered Recipe Rack for shoppable recipes, and standard integrations. No proprietary AI, patents, or technology products are disclosed.

Sunset Foods serves primarily North Shore Chicago area residents seeking fresh, local, and specialty foods, with secondary catering customers for events and corporate gatherings. The company differentiates through curated local vendor partnerships (Von Bergen Family Farms, Slagel Family Farms, Miller Amish Poultry, Certified Angus Beef, Meat by Linz), in-house expertise, and a closed-loop plastic bag recycling initiative with Aargus Plastics. Ownership is private with no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or institutional investors.

Name

Sunset Foods

Legal name

Sunset Food Mart, Inc.

Website

https://sunsetfoods.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Sunset Foods is a family-owned neighborhood supermarket chain founded in 1937 operating seven grocery locations across North Shore Chicago suburbs, serving local residents with fresh, specialty, and locally-sourced foods, plus catering, in-store dining, and online ordering through eGrocer and Instacart.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Grocery Retail

NAICS

Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers) (44511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411)

akta.pro primary industry

Gourmet & Fine Food Stores (CRAHAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Freshly Made Grab-and-Go (Sandwiches, Wraps, Salads) (CRAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Neighborhood supermarket
• Fresh specialty groceries
• Online grocery ordering
• Prepared foods catering
• In-store dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Highland Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. In-Store Retail Sales: Traditional grocery retail selling fresh foods, specialty items, meat, seafood, produce, deli, bakery, and grocery/dairy/frozen products across 7 physical store locations.
2. eGrocer Online Ordering: Proprietary online ordering platform offering curbside pickup and same-day delivery. Customers place orders through eGrocer.sunsetfoods.com.
3. Instacart Delivery: Third-party delivery partnership through Instacart platform for home delivery services.
4. Catering Services: Full-service catering for events with menu options ranging from individual items to complete event packages. Online ordering available through entertaining.sunsetfoods.com.
5. In-Store Dining: Sunset Eats food service operations including Libertyville Sandwich Werks and Northbrook Grill offering prepared foods. BeriGood Acai Bowls available for online ordering and in-store pickup.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Sunset Foods is a family-owned neighborhood supermarket chain founded in 1937 operating seven storefronts across the North Shore suburbs of Chicago (five Sunset Foods stores plus two Grand Food Center sister stores). The retailer sells fresh, local, and specialty groceries, in-house butcher and prepared foods, and supplements in-store shopping with an eGrocer online ordering site, Instacart delivery, catering, and in-store dining concepts.

Product overview

Sunset Foods is a family-owned neighborhood supermarket chain offering a unified in-store and digital shopping experience. The core retail business features seven grocery locations across Illinois with departments for Meat, Seafood, Produce, Deli, Bakery, and Grocery/Frozen, plus prepared food venues (Libertyville Sandwich Werks, Northbrook Grill). Digital products include eGrocer for online ordering, the Recipe Rack powered by SideChef for shoppable recipes, Sunset Eats for order-ahead prepared foods, BeriGood Acai Bowls, and Glow Rewards loyalty program. Sunset Catering and Grand Food Center (sister brand) round out the portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BeriGood: Acai bowl brand offering fresh and healthy options to go
• Sunset Eats
• Glow Rewards
• Sunset Innovators
• eGrocer

Products and services

• Sunset Foods Supermarket Stores

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Aargus PlasticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 August 2024Closed-loop plastic bag recycling partnership. Aargus Plastics, a family-owned company in business for over sixty years with nearly fifty years in recycling, sorts and recycles plastic into post-consumer use trash bags at their Illinois facility. The partnership ensures plastic bags dropped in Sunset's recycle bins are actually recycled and reused rather than ending up in landfills, completing a verified closed-loop process from collection to recycled product.
• Grand Food CentercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTwo Grand Food Center locations (Winnetka and Glencoe) operate under the same ownership as Sunset Foods, serving the North Shore Chicago community with similar product offerings and customer service focus.
• Von Bergen Family FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-generation family farm in Hebron, Illinois supplying fresh, local Bi-Color Corn to Sunset Foods. Represents Sunset's commitment to supporting local farmers and providing locally-sourced produce.
• Slagel Family FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFifth-generation Illinois farm providing heritage pork (Berkshire, Duroc, and Yorkshire pigs) and turkey products. Slagel's Heritage pork genetics have been developed for decades to enhance meat quality, producing juicy, flavorful meat sought after by top Chicago steakhouses. Located approximately 90 miles from Sunset stores.
• Miller Amish PoultrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupplier of air-chilled Amish chicken with direct farm-to-store delivery, bypassing warehouses to preserve texture, flavor, and cooking performance. Represents Sunset's focus on humane practices and premium quality.
• Certified Angus BeefminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremium beef brand sourced from only the top 3% of beef in the country based on marbling and tenderness. Provides top-tier beef selections for Sunset's meat department.
• Meat by LinzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupplier of hand-selected and aged beef from premier cattle for Sunset's premium meat offerings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Heinen's Fine Foods: Family-owned premium regional grocer operating ~23 stores across Northeast Ohio and Greater Chicago with strong local-sourcing, in-store dining, and catering offerings — directly comparable to Sunset's neighborhood supermarket model.
• Mariano's (Roundy's/Kroger): Chicago-area premium grocery banner under Kroger with ~44 stores emphasizing fresh, local, and prepared foods — Sunset's primary direct competition for the same North Shore/Chicago premium-grocer shopper.
• Pete's Fresh Market: Independent multi-store Chicago-area grocery chain with a strong specialty produce, meat, and prepared-foods focus — competing head-to-head with Sunset Foods for Chicago suburban grocery baskets.
• Plum Market: Premium Michigan-based specialty grocer with several Chicago-area locations emphasizing organic, local, and prepared foods — directly comparable premium positioning and shopper demographic.
• Jewel-Osco (Albertsons): Long-standing Chicago-area supermarket chain (Albertsons banner) with broad grocery footprint including North Shore locations — Sunset's most direct local supermarket competitor at a different price/value tier.

Broad incumbents

• Whole Foods Market (Amazon): National premium/natural grocer with multiple Chicago-area stores — overlapping premium fresh, organic, and prepared-foods offering but broader scale and category coverage than Sunset's neighborhood format.
• Trader Joe's: National specialty grocer with curated assortment and strong private-label penetration; a habitual competitor for premium North Shore shoppers on specialty and fresh categories.
• Fresh Thyme Market: Midwest-focused natural and organic grocery banner operating ~70 stores — overlapping fresh/local and natural-products positioning aimed at the same Chicago-area health-conscious shopper.
• Hy-Vee: Midwest employee-owned supermarket chain with strong prepared-foods, catering, and digital ordering investments — comparable full-format grocery with in-store dining and online initiatives.

Emerging players

• Green Zebra Grocery: Smaller Chicago-based neighborhood convenience-grocer concept focused on grab-and-go prepared foods and local products — comparable curated assortment but smaller footprint than Sunset.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sunsetfoods
• Instagraminstagram.com/sunsetfoods
• Xx.com/sunsetfoods
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunset-foods

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Sunset Foods