Sunday, February 19, 2012

California Launch: My Fit Foods Opening Hermosa Beach, Torrance Healthy Fresh-Prepared Food Stores February 24

My Fit Foods this week erected the tall sign above at its soon-to-open Hermosa Beach store to attract attention from drivers on the busy Pacific Coast Highway. [Photo credit: Fresh & Easy Buzz, 02/19/2012.] 

Houston, Texas-based healthy fresh-prepared foods' retailer My Fit Foods plans to open its first two stores in California in the Southern California cities of Hermosa Beach (1005 Pacific Coast Highway) and Torrance (2543-G Pacific Coast Highway) Friday, February 24, according to a fresh posting on its new website, which the retailer went live with Friday, as we noted in this story - February 17, 2012: Texas-Based Healthy Fresh Foods' Retailer My Fit Foods Opening First California Store in Hermosa Beach.

The Hermosa Beach and Torrance My Fit Foods' stores are the first two of what the fresh-prepared foods' retailer says will be numerous retail outlets in the Golden State.

 A view of the Hermosa Beach My Fit Foods store from the busy Pacific Coast Highway. [Photo credit: Fresh & Easy Buzz, 02/19/2012.] 

The Hermosa Beach store (pictured at top, above and below) is about a quarter-mile away from the Fresh & Easy Express market on the Pacific Coast Highway, which was opened by Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market on January 11, 2012.

Coming soon: My Fit Foods, 1005 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach, California. [Photo credit: Fresh & Easy Buzz, 02/12/2012.]
[Photo credit: Fresh & Easy Buzz, 02/19/2012.]
The My Fit Foods' store at 2543-G Pacific Coast Highway in Torrance is located immediatly next door (building right of the awning in the photo above) to a Trader Joe's grocery market in a busy shopping center that also includes a Whole Foods Market store, a Weight Watchers shop and numerous restaurants, like the Casa Organic Cafe, which is one space down (photo below) from the My Fit Foods store. The van in front of the store is part of the fleet My Fit Foods' uses to transport the refrigerated, fresh-prepared foods to its stores from its central kitchen.
[Photo credit: Fresh & Easy Buzz, 02/19/2012.]
Locating the store right next to the Trader Joe's should be a big bonus for My Fit Foods for two reasons: The store will benefit from the foot traffic generated by the market; and, since Trader Joe's doesn't offer much in the way of refrigerated ready meals (its main focus is on frozen), that fact and its proximity to the TJ's could help it sell more of its fresh-prepared meals.

As we reported yesterday, My Fit Foods is also expanding from its Texas home base into Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Oklahoma, in addition to California.

My Fit Foods, which currently has about 44 stores, offers a variety of healthy fresh-prepared meals, side dishes, breakfast foods and snacks for takeout.

The foods are prepared in the company's corporate kitchens - and in some cases in-store - then packaged for sale in the stores.

The fresh-made foods, 95% of which the company says are gluten-free, are prepared using lean protein, are low in carbohydrates, and contain heart healthy fats. There are currently about 60 items on the menu, with more being added regularly.

The primary focus of the fresh-prepared food shops is takeout. However, the My Fit Foods' store's also have an area where customers can eat-in at a counter and a few tables with chairs. The store's have microwave ovens to heat the prepared meals.

In addition to the fresh-prepared foods, The retailer offers a line of vitamins and nutritional supplements under the My Fit Foods' brand, which is sells in the stores. The vitamins and supplements are part of the overall healthy foods/healthy eating/healthy lifestyle niche the company is focused on.

Besides the standard storefront retailing of the fresh-prepared foods, My Fit Foods also offers shoppers various customized healthy meal plans which they can sign up for, letting the company do the meal planning and food preparation for them. Among those plans is what My Fit Foods' calls its "21-Day Challenge," a three-week, five-meal-a-day program it says will start consumers on the road to healthier eating and better nutrition.

[Editor's Note: Stay tuned for an upcoming post featuring a pictorial look at and inside the My Fit Foods' store in Torrance, California.]

Related Stories

February 17, 2011: Texas-Based Healthy Fresh Foods' Retailer My Fit Foods Opening First California Store in Hermosa Beach

January 10, 2012: Welcome to the (Eclectic) Neighborhood: Second of Seven Fresh & Easy Express Stores Opens Tomorrow in Hermosa Beach, California

December 20, 2012: Hermosa Beach, California Fresh & Easy Express Taking Shape For January 11, 2012 Opening

December 13, 2011: Welcome to the (Eclectic) Neighborhood: Hermosa Beach, California Fresh & Easy Express Set to Open Jan. 11, 2012

Also see this link, , for additional related stories.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here is the deal - I lend you My Fit Foods, so can you share us Fresh & Easy, please?

- D (from Texas).

Anonymous said...

My Fit Foods reminds me of what I consider the failed "meal assembly" operations and franchises such as Dream Dinners.

I haven't pulled the documents, but I'm wondering if the first two locatons are corporate or franchise?

My Fit Foods has filed with the state of California to offer franchises.

Also, what company has My Fit Foods contracted with for preparation of the fresh products?

That would be funny if My Fit Foods contracted with Tesco's Fresh & Easy to prepare the products, and F&E has lots of capacity at it's Riverside, CA complex that Tesco has the capability of handling contract production.

I'll reserve judgement on My Fit Foods. My initial concern is pricing, and I think the market will be limited where they and their gullible franchisees can operate with a profitable return.

Many Dream Dinners have closed down. Much of that had to do with the recession, poor and overpriced locations and a pricing model that may be considered too expensive by some.

My Fit Foods offers vitamins and supplements, so that is a different take on this flavor of a "meal assembly" business.

I see where the founder spent some time during his military service at Twentynine Palms, hence the California connection?

SO_CAL_RETAIL_SLUT

Fresh & Easy Buzz said...

S_C-R_S

The two Southern California My Fit Foods' stores are franchised.

My Fit Foods' prepares the meals in a kitchen at the store in Hermosa Beach. It's mentioned in the other stories in the blog. They transport the meals to the store in Torrance in a van. There's pics of the van in the other two stories on MFF.

The expansion into California is part of its overall growth plan in the west.

Thanks for contributing.