Dive Brief:

• Basics Market has opened a new store location in Tualatin, Oregon, according to a press release sent to Grocery Dive. This marks the third Basics location following the brand's debut last year. A fourth store will open in Portland’s Pearl District later this year.
• The small-format store, started by Pacific Foods founder Chuck Eggert, partners with local producers to offer products that minimize distribution costs while also reducing waste. The store is organized for easy access and features ingredients organized according to recipes created by award-winning chefs and staff nutritionists.
• The new location also offers a bar and bottle shop featuring regional selections, a kitchen classroom and an expanded Northwest Proteins counter with sustainably caught fish, plant-based proteins and cured meat from farms selected for their sustainability and animal welfare practices.

Dive Insight:

Basics Market is capitalizing on consumer interest in healthier choices and cooking at home by creating experiences around these two topics. In lieu of going to a traditional supermarket and searching recipes on the internet, shoppers at Basics can get everything they need for a meal in-store while picking up tips on how to prepare it.

Some 82% of Americans are preparing meals at home, according to NPD Group, a significant rise from a decade ago. 

“Each of our Basics Markets are designed to meet the needs of the community that they’re in as well as stay true to the Basics model to help more people cook at home with a bounty of fresh, regional ingredients,” company president Fernando Divina wrote to Grocery Dive via email.

The new store features an expanded selection of meat and seafood along with a bottle shop featuring Northwest wine and craft beer. Divina said Basics' forthcoming fourth location will have a bar called Wild Rose along with a bottle shop and aging chambers for meat and cheese. 

The Tualatin store marks Basics' first location outside Portland's city limits, and should test the brands ability to resonate with suburban consumers. It's located near two retail centers — Nyberg Woods, which is a neighborhood and lifestyle center with chains like Old Navy, Chipotle and Starbucks; and the upscale Bridgeport Village, which is intended to mimic an open-air European-style shopping center complete with an 18-screen movie theater.

With its scaled-down size, limited assortment and meal-focused design, Basics stands in stark contrast to the conventional grocery store format. Winning over customers loyal to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and other specialty stores, however — not to mention Portland's vibrant collection of independent retailers — will be crucial if the nascent chain hopes to scale beyond its Northwest enclave.