A $20 smoothie and a $19 single strawberry could only belong in one place: Erewhon, the luxury grocery chain and celebrity hotspot in Los Angeles.
But as of last week, it’s not the only so-called hypebeast grocer in West Hollywood.
Just a few blocks away from one of Erewhon’s various locations, Laurel Supply, a giant market filled with natural light and timber interiors, looks unmistakably like an Erewhon to those passing by.
The team behind the venture are the owners of neighboring restaurant Laurel Hardware, meaning they had a deep knowledge of the area before opening, which according to the local newspaper WEHO Times, is years in the making.
Laurel Supply launched with no press release or social media, betting instead on two things: its aesthetics and the willingness of curious passersby to post their own content.
“An Erewhon dupe just opened right across the street from Erewhon in West Hollywood,” a user said in a video on TikTok. Dozens of similar TikTok videos also flooded the app over the weekend, with Angelenos flocking to compare the new kid on the block.
A new front in the fight for high-end shoppers
Although shoppers with big enough bank accounts can opt to buy their entire groceries at places like Erewhon, most customers only buy specific products, such as items from the prepared food section or viral snacks.
Still, Erewhon does more than break even, which explains why others might want to tap into the luxury grocery space, filled with aspiration and $20 celebrity-branded smoothies.
The store, which has more than 10 locations, made $10.6 million just from its Hailey Bieber branded smoothie, which launched in 2022, bringing in around $40,000 to stores a month. And beyond its hero products, the brand made $171.4 million in profit in 2023, as Fast Company previously reported.
It’s not just about single products, but rather the lifestyle that Erewhon sells along with it, which is why customers will pay a $200-a-year membership for exclusive perks like a free smoothie.
“Erewhon is at the intersection of two game-changing trends in the luxury market today: luxury as an experience, not a product, and the wellness and well-being trends,” luxury retail expert Pamela Danziger told Vogue Business.
While disrupting a niche giant might intuitively seem to require massive amounts of marketing, Laurel Supply is betting on none of it, relying instead on the same power that built Erewhon in the first place: social media.
“The customer Erewhon built doesn’t respond to ads. They respond to “have you been to the new one,” product growth analyst Aakash Gupta said on X. “The store is the marketing budget.”
Inside the store, freshly pressed juice in glass bottles are on view, as well as vibrant produce flooding the aisles.
Ready-to-eat food is prepared in various stations, such as a matcha bar and a sushi counter. Even an in-house mill for pizza is made available for those wishing to grab and go, or dine in the sunny outdoor areas. And the staff is seemingly perfect, wearing matching white jackets.
Gupta added, “Every detail engineered to photograph.”
For now, the strategy of having no strategy seems to be working, with users online claiming the store has been busy throughout the weekend. As one TikTok user added, “you guys I’m at Laurel Supply and I think it might be the hottest spot. Sorry, Erewhon.”
