Clarks Nutrition Draws International Crowd

If you’ve lived in the Inland Empire for any length of time, you are probably familiar with Clark’s Nutrition & Natural Foods Market. They have been in the Inland Empire for over 40 years. This past weekend three busloads of curious health conscience seekers descended upon Clark’s Loma Linda store. Although the bus came from Anaheim, its occupants came as far as Dubai, Russia, Australia, Canada, China, Poland, as well as several other countries. Why were they coming to Clark’s? The Natural Products Expo West was in Anaheim this past weekend. This event draws crowds of over 300,000 natural foods retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers from around the globe. While many come to see the new products that are coming to market, explore innovations in Natural Foods education, etc. several busloads from the event came to tour three natural foods stores that are unique in one way or another. The other two stores are household names and much closer to Anaheim. So why choose Clark’s, a three-store chain all the way in the Inland Empire to be included among industry giants? Christine Kapperman, from New Hope Media was the organizer of the event in Anaheim and tour said, “Clark’s has had a long-time reputation in our industry as independent leaders, that educate their customer, provide great in-store resources, and give a great amount of attention to staff development.” Attendees received a guided tour of the store from Clark’s Nutritional Consultants and managers. But for many on the tour, this was not their first exposure to Clark’s Nutrition. This year Starkie Sowers, the Director of Education for Clark's was chosen to grace the cover of the expo magazine that is put in the hands of the 300,000+ attendees. The “Natural Foods Merchandiser” magazine is the industry equivalent of getting the cover of “Rolling Stone.” Ray Clark, the family Patriarch and CEO, was on-hand to share in full animation the Clark’s story to the captive crowd. It’s clear when listening to Ray that this just isn’t a business but a passion fueled by the growing need for people to self-educate about their health. Clark’s personal touch, in a world of corporate mergers and big business, is what makes this family owned and operated venture easy to love. We asked Michael Foxen, from Scotland whose “Real Foods” company started in the 70s, about the same time as the Clark family opened its doors, what he noticed about our hometown store. In his un-mistakenly Scottish voice, Foxen says, “we like the people at Clark's…the people here at Clark's are extremely nice and warm. I’m not saying the other stores aren’t nice, but there’s something different here. They are different from everybody else.” Another guest, Wong Kah Cane from Hong Kong chimed in, “This store is awesome! I was very impressed with the staff’s knowledge here at Clark's.” “It’s great to see Clark’s get this special attention,” Mike Barnett, Marketing Director for Clark’s says, “We spend a lot of time trying to meet the needs of our community. Today was a reminder that, regardless of where in the world someone is from, people appreciate care, quality, service, and helpful knowledge.”