Western Grocer Serving the industry since 1916
By Robin Brunet
When Ravinder Narula bought a small grocery store in Vancouver called Singh Foods in 1991, he was only one of three retailers specializing in South Asian food in all of Greater Vancouver.
What a difference 34 years makes. Today, hundreds of stores cater to the huge range of foods enjoyed by immigrants from Asia, reflecting this part of Canada’s rapidly changing demographic (South Asian Canadians are the third largest pan-ethnic group in Metro Vancouver alone, comprising over 14 percent of the total population).
Along with the growth have come fierce competition, including offerings from powerhouse T&T (despite its main focus on Chinese items) and 88 Supermarket, to name just two.
But Narula has become a powerhouse grocer in his own right: in addition to pioneering the South Asian grocery trade in B.C., in 2007 he acquired Sabzi Mandi Supermarket, which first opened in 2003, and methodically grew the business into a franchise brand with 14 stores and more being prepped in the pipeline.
What is remarkable about Sabzi Mandi is that despite its proliferation, it remains very much a neighbourhood grocery experience, with every member of Narula’s family working alongside over 100 employees in serving a steady influx of newcomers to Canada as well as long-time customers.
Narula’s wife, Varinder Narula, heads the procurement of all household items sold in the stores. Daughter-in-law Jasween Narula leads the customer service team, which ensures that requests and feedback are handled promptly; and his son, Aman Narula, is vice president, sales and franchise development, charged with future expansion of the Sabzi Mandi chain.
When asked what elements make Sabzi Mandi a neighbourhood shopping experience, Aman replies, “It’s all about convenience. While consistency has been a key to our success and about 90 percent of the products on our shelves are the same from store to store, we adjust the remaining 10 percent to reflect the ethnic makeup of the neighbourhoods in which we operate. Hence, our new store in Winnipeg has Filipino fare, since that city is the unofficial Filipino capital of Canada. In Nanaimo we cater to a robust South Indian population, and if we were ever to expand as far as Atlantic Canada, we would take into account that region’s strong Asian community.”
But that’s just one element of Sabzi Mandi’s success. Newcomers to Canada would not be aware that when Ravinder Narula purchased his first Sabzi supermarket in 2007, the ethnic retail food sector was in a state of transition, and rudimentary mom-and-pop businesses with inconsistent inventory were still an integral part of the landscape.
Aman, 40, who had studied to be an accountant but worked in his parents’ stores since he was 13, made it his goal to change the public’s perception of Asian groceries; and he had a specific model to emulate: Safeway.
He says, “It’s my favourite grocery chain. In addition to its consistency of items from store to store, the layout is beautiful in its simplicity. The lighting is warm, and employees are meticulous about cleanliness. All in all, Safeway was a major inspiration, to the extent that today we’re commonly referred to as ‘Little Safeway’.”
After the Narula family purchased the entire Sabzi Mandi chain in 2010, expansion beyond Greater Vancouver followed: into Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, and then Alberta (Calgary, in 2022) and Manitoba (earlier this year). “We follow the migration patterns of newcomers to Canada,” Aman explains. “Immigration has become a lot tighter, and this combined with the high cost of living in B.C. has resulted in South Asians moving to the prairies and other eastern locations – hence our move to Alberta and Manitoba.”
Aman goes on to note that, “Our flagship store is located in Abbotsford; it has 24 foot high ceilings, a plant wall, and many other beautiful features. Our stores range from 3,500 to 10,000 square feet, with the sweet spot being 6,000 square feet. However, all sizes are a success due to standardization as well as our ability to pivot quickly.” One example of pivoting is the Narula family recently responding to a spike in California citrus fruit prices by sourcing seedless and navel oranges from Egypt for almost half the cost.
As for staff, Aman acknowledges the reality of expanding in an industry whose profit margins are notoriously thin. “We have to keep our costs at a bare minimum, so we rely on affordable labour, lots of students on work permits,” he says. “In exchange, we do what we can to help them obtain citizenships. Additionally, many former employees are now successful franchise owners, some of them owning multiple stores and doing a lot to reinforce our brand.”
In June, when Aman discussed operations to Western Grocer, he and his team were busy prepping a new 8,000 square foot store in Kelowna for launch later this year; and he was visibly upbeat about the prospects of further openings across Canada. “The profits may be small, but the opportunities are substantial,” he says. “Our approach to retail works, so we look forward to serving new customers wherever we’re needed.”
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