The Grocery People have launched a new concept flagship Wholesale Market in Edmonton that could be the model for other similar store openings in Western Canada.
Adele Kostura, Director of Independent Business with Federated Co-operatives Limited which is the umbrella company for TGP, said the 56,000-square-foot store serves both foodservice operators and consumers.
“We’ve been in business of course in Edmonton for a number of years. The first thing that prompted us to look at a move was the ongoing expansion of the Yellowhead Trail, making access into our previous location really quite challenging. When we saw that, we knew we needed to make some sort of change and we thought it was a great opportunity to really expand our business and deliver a better experience for our customers,” she said.
The new store is located at 11628 142 Street NW. The previous location was at Yellowhead Trail and 149th Street. The company took over an existing building for its new store and underwent extensive renovations.
“What you’ll see in Edmonton is a really interesting mix of standard retail product that you might see at any grocery store but then also some foodservice products. Bulk items, that sort of thing, that a chef or restaurants would use in food preps. So you kind of get both of those worlds coming together which is kind of unique,” said Kostura.
“Also in the new location we were able to include a really state-of-the-art culinary centre with industrial prep equipment, commercial kitchen. We’ve done some consumer chef demonstrations to help consumers understand products and how to utilize products and we’ll also use it for business reviews with our commercial clients to help them look at different options for their business and different products they might be able to use or different ways to use products in their business.”
The brand also operates the High Prairie Wholesale Market, TGP Cash & Carry Lloydminster, TGP Wholesale Kamloops, TGP Your Jasper Grocer, and TGP Your High Level Grocer.
“We’re in here and we do think there’s absolutely an opportunity for these to be in other centres as well,” said Kostura of the new flagship model. “In Alberta, across Western Canada really. We don’t have any firm plans right now for next locations but we’ll be watching here to see what we can learn. But we do think there will be that opportunity.”
According to the TGP website in the late 1950s, two of Alberta’s independent grocers, Wilson Lee and Bob Cherot, recognized the need to develop an independent wholesale that put independent grocers in control of where they were going. Lee and Cherot brought 39 of them together in January of 1960, and formed Alberta Grocer Wholesale Ltd.
In 1967, Alberta Grocers acquired Sun Fruit Company, a fruit wholesale, and began operating it as a subsidiary. Then, in 1983, Alberta Grocers amalgamated with the foodservice company, The Grocery People, and adopted the name, realizing it was a better fit for a company that no longer operated solely in Alberta, it says.
In 1992, TGP became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Federated Co-operatives Limited, and the produce supplier to all Co-op stores across Western Canada. TGP began expanding its retail and foodservice base into Southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern Ontario using FCL’s distribution centres in Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, according to the company.
Today, TGP operates a head office and state of the art, 437,000-square-foot distribution facility in Edmonton, a produce wholesale operation based in Calgary, and regional branch offices and warehouse facilities in Kamloops, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg – all of which support community based, family owned and operated retail stores and foodservice establishments.
“Consumers are always looking for value and this concept is really based on every day great pricing rather than the high/low of flyer advertising that you’ll see in a lot of retail grocery stores. Really making sure that you get that fair price every day,” said Kostura.
“The mix of product is quite unique and provides another value opportunity for consumers to be able to try some of those products they might otherwise not have access to.
“For smaller commercial operators, sometimes they don’t want the giant size of a certain product and they would have an option to then use a retail product that might better meet their needs and reduce the waste that they might see in their business.”
