For over 40 years, the locally-owned cooperative in Traverse City, Michigan, has been blazing its trail with a dedication to impact people and the environment positively. Their quadruple bottom line: People, Planet, Purpose, and lastly, Profit, has been their guiding principle since the beginning. A focus on providing high-quality food at a fair value that has been sourced sustainably is the purpose and mission of the co-op. In 2020, Oryana took this purpose to the next level with the opening of its second location in Traverse City. On April 10, 2021, the location that was the former home of Lucky’s Market officially became Oryana West. Through resilience and commitment, Oryana has proven through and through that their somewhat unorthodox business model not only works but can thrive through adversity and challenges.
SUCCESS BUILT FROM SUSTAINABILITY
As with most all co-op businesses, there’s a purpose behind the operations of Oryana. Established as a buying club to purchase wholesome quality food at fair prices, Oryana has kept to these roots over the last 47+ years. The main staple of ensuring this has been their quality standards. These standards start with defined product purchasing guidelines that have true intention towards their quadruple bottom line (People, Planet, Purpose, and Profit). With these standards in place, they have gained the trust of their owners and the surrounding community. A testament to this is their certification as an organic retailer. Oryana was the first co-op in the U.S. to receive this certification. This certification requires compliance with strict USDA guidelines to get certified, maintain the certification. This embodies Oryana’s level of commitment towards sustainability.
Consumers have become increasingly concerned and in tune with what they are eating. They want to know more than ever where food comes from and what exactly the food consists of. Since Oryana has always had this type of focus, it has been well equipped to handle this consumer behavior. They have continued to push the envelope and expect more and more from their suppliers. Whether sourcing local products or knowing the traceability of items, Oryana has provided precedence that these things are just as important, and in many cases more important, as profit.
Oryana has high expectations for its suppliers. Their reputation is on the line with their customers and owners that expect fair value for sustainable foods. Superior Foods takes pride in being one of these suppliers. Whether it is providing consistent quality beef to their butcher counter or finding new sustainable products like organic shrimp, Superior is determined to meet the needs of Oryana. Both Oryana and Superior are indebted to their customers. Showing appreciation through effort and commitment has created a great partnership with a bright future. As Oryana customers/owners continue to look for new and innovative items, Superior will be right there finding opportunities to meet the high-quality standards that Oyrana and its customers expect.
