Esh's Grocery Market

What Esh's Grocery Market does

Esh's Grocery Market is a family-owned discount grocery retailer operating three physical storefronts across Northern Colorado (Loveland, Dacono, and Windsor). Founded in 2002 by John, Sarah, Reuben, and Martha Esh in Loveland, the company sells overstock and short-dated grocery products — including natural and organic items — at 40-60% off typical retail prices. The company sources inventory from top national brands and large distributors, with a complementary "Sell To Esh's" program that enables manufacturers and distributors to liquidate distressed inventory through dedicated dry goods and cooler/freezer buyers. Operations are lean, with 14 employees distributed across retail, warehouse, and back-office functions, and ownership remains concentrated within the Esh family following a 2009 transition from the founding parents to Reuben and Martha Esh.

The business model is a traditional direct-to-consumer retail motion with no e-commerce or delivery component. Customers shop in-store to purchase discounted grocery items, with revenue generated per unit at a fixed discount to retail. There is no disclosed technology platform, app, or proprietary software; the marketing footprint is limited to a Squarespace website, email list, and location-specific Facebook pages. The company has scaled organically over 23 years through two physical expansions (Dacono in 2004 and Windsor in 2025), with no external funding, acquisitions, or partnerships reported. According to company-reported metrics, the model diverts over one million pounds of food from landfills annually and donates approximately 300,000 pounds to charities, supporting a mission-driven positioning that supplements the core value proposition of affordable gourmet and natural groceries for budget-conscious consumers in Northern Colorado.

Name

Esh's Grocery Market

Legal name

Esh's Grocery Market

Website

https://eshsgrocery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Esh's Grocery Market is a family-owned discount grocery retailer operating three Northern Colorado stores that sell overstock and short-dated gourmet, natural, and organic products at 40-60% off retail prices to budget-conscious local consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Discount Grocery Retail

NAICS

Supermarkets and Other Grocery Retailers (except Convenience Retailers) (44511)

SIC

Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Closeout Grocery & Consumables Retail (CRAEAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Closeout & Liquidation Stores (CRAEAFAA), Returns & Salvage (Customer Returns) Retail (CRAEAFAC)

Keywords

• Discount grocery retail
• Overstock food sales
• Organic natural groceries
• Food waste rescue
• Surplus grocery liquidation

Headquarters

HQ city

Loveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Grocery Sales: Revenue generated from selling discounted gourmet groceries, organic and natural products sourced from overstock and short-dated inventory. Products are sold at 40-60% off retail prices, generating revenue through high volume sales of rescued food items.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Esh's Grocery Market operates three physical discount grocery stores in Northern Colorado that sell overstock and short-dated gourmet, organic, and natural food products at 40-60% off retail prices. The company sources inventory from top brands and large distributors, rescues it from landfill, and resells it to consumers. A complementary "Sell to Esh's" program allows distributors and manufacturers to liquidate distressed inventory through dedicated buyers for dry goods and cooler/freezer categories.

Product overview

Esh's Grocery Market operates as a single retail brand offering discount gourmet groceries. The core offering is a retail grocery store that sells overstock and short-dated products (meeting all health and safety codes) at 40-60% off retail prices, sourced from top distributors and manufacturers across the country. The company operates three physical store locations in Northern Colorado (Loveland, Dacono, and Windsor) and provides a complementary 'Sell To Esh's' service enabling distributors and manufacturers to liquidate distressed inventory.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Esh's Grocery Market (Discount Grocery Retail) A discount gourmet grocery retail operation selling overstock and short-dated food products at 40-60% off retail prices, sourced from top brands and the country's largest distributors including natural and organic suppliers. Operates three physical store locations in Northern Colorado (Loveland, Dacono, and Windsor) and serves budget-conscious local shoppers seeking affordable gourmet, organic, and natural groceries.
• Sell To Esh's Program A liquidation service for distributors and manufacturers to sell overstock or short-dated grocery inventory. Dedicated buyers handle dry goods (Jorge Oliva) and cooler and freezer categories (Ben Trim), rescuing products that would otherwise go to landfill and feeding them into the retail store supply chain.

Quantifiable outcome

• Saving over 1 million pounds of food from landfill annually
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Dollar General: Mass-market discount retailer with an expanding grocery assortment (including fresh and refrigerated items) at very low prices. Competes for the same value-driven grocery customer in rural and suburban Colorado.
• Aldi: Hard-discount grocery chain operating across Colorado with consistently low prices on a curated assortment. Competes for the same value-conscious grocery shopper, with a much more predictable and broader inventory.
• Save-A-Lot: Discount grocery chain focused on small-format stores offering a limited assortment of value-priced groceries. Targets the same value-conscious grocery segment and smaller communities that Esh's serves.
• Lidl: European hard-discount grocer expanding into the U.S. market with deep-discount pricing on a limited assortment. Direct competitor for budget-conscious grocery shoppers in Colorado's Front Range.
• Grocery Outlet: Largest U.S. closeout/overstock grocery chain with hundreds of stores; offers extreme value through opportunistic buying. Highly comparable business model to Esh's, but at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.

Regional players

• WinCo Foods: Employee-owned discount grocery chain with a strong Western U.S. footprint and a no-frills, low-price model. Comparable to Esh's as a value-oriented grocery operator, though with much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Too Good To Go: App-based marketplace that helps restaurants and grocery stores sell surplus food at discounted prices. Shares the food-waste mission and discount-grocery value proposition, though focused on prepared/surplus meals from many sellers.
• Misfits Market: Online retailer that sells surplus, overstock, and 'ugly' produce and grocery items at discounted prices. Same core thesis of rescuing food waste, but operates via e-commerce rather than brick-and-mortar.
• Flashfood: Marketplace app connecting consumers with grocery retailers to sell short-dated and surplus food at deep discounts. Addresses the same overstock/short-dated inventory problem, but via a digital marketplace rather than owned stores.
• Imperfect Foods: Online grocery service focused on surplus and imperfect foods, selling at a discount to reduce waste. Operates a direct-to-consumer model similar in philosophy to Esh's, but with national delivery reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esh's-grocery-market

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Esh's Grocery Market