Nude Foods Market — Local services in Boulder

I wasn't sure what to expect from Nude Foods Market based on the reviews. Is it a grocery store? A prepared food shop? Is the buying process complicated, given the zero waste philosophy? Everyone seems to love it, though, so I went for the first time last weekend with my 4-year-old and my mom. I have to say: I was absolutely delighted.

Basically, Nude Foods is a small grocery store (think: the size of the Pear St. Whole Foods dining area, if that) with a zero waste goal. Everything that needs a container is sold in a jar or in a cloth bag. The store also has various items that nudge you toward sustainability, like metal drinking straws and silicon sandwich bags.

Most of the prices are impressive. That first day we went, I was able to snag two frozen loaves of bread -- one from Great Harvest and one from Dry Storage -- for half of what I'd pay at either of those businesses. Nude Foods has fresh Dry Storage bread every day for the same price as what it is at Dry Storage. (I'd rather buy the bread from Nude Foods, though, because I like the cloth bread bags.) The prices that aren't impressive are justified because of the cost of the ingredients or the labor. There's also a lot of cool local stuff, like Susan's Samosas and fresh milk from a Longmont dairy.

The general vibe is really cool and casual. Obviously, I don't feel comfortable letting my 4-year-old do his own thing when we're at Whole Foods or at King Soopers. At Nude Foods, though, he's just as happy browsing as I am, and we browse separately because the store is so small. (It's such a refreshing feeling to be able to do that when you are the parent to small children.) Both times that I've checked out, the cashiers have been very kind. The first time, I bought bananas that were past their prime, and the cashier unexpectedly gave me a discount on them.

Here's where I'm going with this rambling review: you should definitely check this place out. It's not a one-stop shop, but I think that with our collective patronage, it certainly can be in the future! Historically, I haven't gone out of my way to be sustainable, but love the concept behind Nude Foods, and it does inspire me to think more about packaging and waste. A big bonus is that once I'm done with my items, I just return the packaging to the store during my next trip there ... no need to recycle or trash anything. Five stars from this...

TLDR: Do not use their online store and delivery service, as it is dsyfunctional.

This review only applies to the online store. I tried their delivery service for about 6 months in 2024. I had no issues with their drivers, but their managers and supply chain were abysmal.

I was notified of missing or swapped items nearly every delivery, only hours before or during the delivery. It would seem reasonable to expect more notice than this. Contact through email yielded endless promises that it would not happen again, but the practice continued.

Their website is more than a decade behind modern standards. Every transaction created a new subscription that would have to be managed independently of other subscriptions. This further confused their packers, who would include duplicate items or remove items altogether.

The foods that I received generally never lasted more than a couple days and the quality was subpar.

When I went to the store to cancel my subscriptions and have my credits refunded, the cashier had no idea that there was an online component to the business.

I support the mission of this business, but the intent behind the mission is lacking if the business cannot make a reasonable effort to accomplish it. I am wholly unsatisfied with my interaction with Nude Foods and would suggest avoiding their online services until they can demonstrate basic functions of a modern...

To The Nude Foods Market Team! You all are incredible! I wanted to write and express our gratitude and excitement to have received our first delivery. No plastic packaging, instead beautiful, sanitized jars. I can’t tell you how amazed I am at the quality of produce and homemade, local goodies (think potato chips, tortilla chips, donuts, vegan milk bread, pickled beets, kombucha!), bulk items ie. herbs, oils, boulder clean detergent and cleaning spray, Dr. Bronners hand soap, coffee, bread, local eggs, and many more offerings. I can feel the love that went into all of it; from the customer service (prompt, friendly, informative) to the flawless logistics behind the operation, to the quality and affordability of the food. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your motivation behind building this business, and offering the opportunity to source as much as we can through you! You are an inspiration to do better and have created a sustainable and convenient solution to some mighty problems we face. We are thrilled to continue to support you. I encourage our community members to jump on the Nude Foods Market website and see what they offer. Lastly, I will comment how reasonable the prices are and how much you will save buying through this company, while also taking care of earth! :) Cant say enough good things! Thank you

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