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Susie Farbin and Diana Hicks, co-owners
Susie Farbin and Diana Hicks, co-owners

6-29 Years in Operation Finalist: MaMa Jean's Natural Foods Market LLC

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“People can buy groceries anywhere,” says Diana Hicks, co-owner of MaMa Jean’s Natural Foods Market LLC. “But you can’t buy all these items at any one place and you’re not going to find a staff that’s as knowledgeable about such a wide range of products anywhere.”  

Amidst a cultural shift away from the convenience food that partner Susie Farbin says leaves you full but not fueled, MaMa Jean’s strives to provide healthier, more wholesome alternatives. The 10-year-old company offers shoppers an inventory of more than 4,000 food, produce and supplement items, which are predominantly clean – free of additives and refined or processed ingredients – mostly organic and local whenever possible.  

Following the business' launch at the original 1727 S. Campbell location, MaMa Jean’s opened a second location on Republic Road in 2008. Farbin calls the move the smartest thing they could have done as a company.

MaMa Jean’s tapped the south Springfield market as a tenant of the Green Circle Shopping Center, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum-certified retail space. Along with locally-owned outdoor equipment retailer Dynamic Earth, MaMa Jean’s drew shared clientele, company staff size doubled and overall growth topped 300 percent.

In the intervening years, healthy food came into its own via the “eat clean” and “buy local” food movements. Urban farming took root in Springfield and the availability of locally sourced, small-batch specialty foods substantially increased opportunities for MaMa Jean’s to stock homegrown products, which now includes 40 percent of all produce sold and 85 percent of all meat.  

Building on 34.7 percent revenue growth from 2011-12, the company opened its third location at 3530 E. Sunshine St. in April. Enhanced data analysis from a 2011 overhaul of the company’s store management software and point-of-sale systems helped pinpoint underserved ZIP codes in east Springfield. With a nod toward the neighboring Sam’s Club, Farbin says they also relied on outside corporate guidance to choose the location.

“When a large corporation like that has done the demographic research for you and made that kind of investment right next door, it’s obviously a good spot,” she says.

At 24,000 square feet, the new store is twice as large as the Republic Road location, and doubles the total company retail space. Besides an expanded display area and a deli operation, the new building offers a larger warehouse to accommodate more bulk merchandise.

Such a big bang expansion may be a boon for growth, but Farbin says it is not without its challenges. The accompanying 50 percent staff increase has spurred the hiring of additional assistant managers and a general manager to oversee operations of all three locations. Hicks and Farbin will spend the resulting extra time focused on improving communication across all 140 employees, including a formalized regular meeting schedule and employee newsletter.

Owners say business is up 47 percent in 2013, thanks to the new location opening. While the two existing stores experienced an initial 10 to 20 percent customer drain, the partners behind Springfield’s largest women-owned business – according to Springfield Business Journal list reserch – expect the traffic patterns to even out in 2013.

MaMa Jean’s continues to operate with a local focus, giving back to the communtiy through its monthly Change for Change coin collection program. The program supports a dozen area charities including Boys & Girls Club of the Ozarks, Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks and Care to Learn.[[In-content Ad]]

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