Healthy food and chemical-free home and beauty products at wholesale prices? Thrive Market is kind of like an online Costco for healthy food, but is it worth it? Because let’s face it, eating clean and healthy is expensive. Today I’ll be giving an honest review of my family’s experiences with Thrive Market, from using the website and the delivery process to the savings.
OUR REVIEW: IS THRIVE MARKET WORTH IT?
I’ve recommended Thrive Market to friends and family for over two years now. It’s so convenient, the process and shipping is quick, and it’s a much cheaper option to get quality products instead of paying 30% or more by going to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. When we first started using Thrive Market, my husband and I were newlyweds with not much of a discretionary income at all. But clean food and sustainability is something that is important to us, and I figured that if the subscription wasn’t worth it, we could always cancel. (For every membership, Thrive Market also gives a membership to a family in need, which is amazing!) Over two years later, and here we are.
Don’t get me wrong — eating clean (especially in the US) is expensive. But it’s soooo worth it. And you are worth that expense, but it can be daunting on your budget to start eating grass-fed, chemical-free, preservative-free.
When I was in Europe studying abroad, something that I will never forget was biting into something we had in the US, but it tasted different! The ingredients were different — they were real. And I knew exactly what the ingredients were on the package. No fillers, no preservatives, nothing. When I came home and started eating US food again, I got sick. That was really triggering for me: realizing that we are being given crap to eat like it’s normal and okay and then becoming overweight or having health issues because of it. That’s not something I want for my family.
To check out my clean eating recipes, go here!
OUR THRIVE MARKET SAVINGS
Being the cost-conscious person that I am, I had some reservations about an online membership. A Thrive Market membership costs $59.95 for the year. But as I said, I was prepared to give it a try, and if it wasn’t saving us money in the long run or it was too time-consuming, we would cancel.
Over our first year, I compared prices at Kroger, Publix, and even Amazon, and we were spending multiple dollars less at Thrive for each item, which was quickly adding up to hundreds of dollars in savings!
- Jovial Gluten-Free Brown Rice Fusilli Pasta – $3.49 (normally $4.99 at other stores)
- Kind Granola Oat Clusters – $4.27 (normally $5.69)
- Simple Mills Almond Flour Waffle and Pancake Mix – $6.64 (normally $7.99)
- Nutiva Hemp Protein Powder – $11.79 (normally $16.99)
- Primal Kitchen Dressings – $5.69 (normally $6.68)
- Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil – $9.49 (normally $11.49)
- Nutiva Virgin Coconut Oil – $17.49 for 29 oz. (normally $22.99)
- Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar – $5.29 for 32 oz. (normally $6.99)
Just from shopping the above items, your savings would be $19.66! You also get free shipping for any orders $49+
Thrive Market has a 25% off offer that you can apply to your first order here.
Thrive Market also has their own brand (kind of like the “Publix or Kroger version”). Many times their items are even more affordable. I’ve purchased SO many of the Thrive Market brand items, and I haven’t had one item that I haven’t liked yet. The best part? Thrive Market also sends you emails to let you know which items have a deeper discount available that week, and they’re almost always offering a free gift too!
Some of the full-size free gifts we have gotten include:
- New Chapter Women’s Vitamins – $22 value
- Nutiva Plant Protein Powder – $30 value
- Beekeeper’s Propolis Throat Spray – $13 value
- Schmidt’s Laundry Detergent – $17 value
- Manitoba Harvest CBD Wide Spectrum Extract Oil – $20 value
$959 in savings for two years is pretty incredible! And that includes 7 months being during a pandemic where we were heavily reducing our spending in our home since I work in the entertainment/hospitality industry. I would guess we would have been over $1,500 in savings if my industry had been unaffected by COVID-19. We earned our annual membership back in savings in our first two orders!
To learn more about Thrive Market and unlock 25% off your first order, go here.
OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THRIVE MARKET
Another thing I’m a huge fan of is being able to see reviews before I buy anything. It’s so helpful to see what other people think of a product that I’ve never tried before instead of aimlessly picking something based on the packaging if the ingredients are similar. (I literally used to stand in front of a section in Kroger and flip over the products to read the ingredients and if they were similar I would eeny-meeny-miny-moe it)
Thrive Market has become such an easy way for our family to try new healthy and clean foods without worrying about if we’re not going to like it. The site itself is so easy to navigate, and they break down the categories to where you can shop by the type of item or your diet — keto, gluten-free, vegan, paleo and more.
DELIVERY
The idea of doing a grocery shop and then waiting for the items was a bit strange to me at first. Though I also started using Thrive Market before Amazon launched their “Prime Pantry,” so now I guess it’s not quite so daunting. But maybe some of you are like how I was. I questioned if I could wait to get the package — how long would it take? No one wants to wait weeks for a grocery shop.
Even during the height of the pandemic where there was maybe a one or two day delay, I’ve been SO impressed with their delivery process. After you pay for your order, you’ll receive a confirmation email and tracking info, which you also can access within your account. Typically my orders have arrived within 2-3 days after placing the order. Basically the same as Amazon Prime.
If you get excited about supporting a sustainable company like I do, it’s also worth noting that Thrive Market ships with 100% recyclable packaging, including the tape. They also are a carbon-neutral company.
BEYOND THE FOOD
Thrive Market has more than just food and drink products — they have supplements, baby products, beauty and skincare items, and even cleaning products. This past summer our family began phasing out all of our cleaners that have chemicals in them because I get such awful headaches. (Natural ones also are better for the environment and our overall health)
I’ve actually been so surprised at how easy the process was for us to switch over! Note: if you plan to do the same, make sure you use up your current products or donate them if you can to a shelter. We love a natural lady/fella, but not a wasteful one.
Here are the cleaning products we made our switch to:
Random but related note: I really love the way every product is laid out on their website. They have made it so easy to read about the product, the company who makes the product, and the reviews. Check out Biokleen’s below which is my husband’s FAVORITE detergent now — it’s concentrated for HE loads, so it lasts twice as long because you need about half of the amount.
OUR BOTTOM LINE
Our family kept one subscription during the COVID-19 pandemic — and Thrive Market was that subscription.
Learn more about Thrive Market and unlock 25% off your first order here.
