Price Check: Essence of Life versus Tutti Frutti
It's my weekly ritual. Every Sunday I make the trek to Essence of Life in Kensington Market to stock-up on tofu, nuts and an assortment of natural, organic and wheat-free treats. I'm a loyal fan. Their prices are a steal and selection tough to beat even when compared to more well known outfits like Noah's and Whole Foods.
That said, I sometimes cheat. Every once in a while, I wander a few doors north to Tutti Frutti, their main competitor in the soon-to-be escalating Kensington Market "health food" wars.
The two stores have a similar feel. They're both crammed with goodies and even in minus 15 weather like today stock bags of cereal and chips out by the side-walk. I've shopped at both quite happily but for one subconscious reason or another always come back to Essence.
Today I decided to do my own little investigation. Why would I shop at one store over the other? I find the customer service about equal, they're both clean and the location is basically the same. That narrows my key criteria down to two things - selection and price.
First, the price check. Comparing a random sample of ten goods, I found the results somewhat surprising. Only four of the ten items had the same price and there was enough price variation among some of them to actually get me to question my shopping habits.
Here's what I compared:
Koyo Natural Rice Cakes
Hanamaruki Miso Paste White Type
So Nice Peach Soy Yogurt
Tamari Almonds (bulk)
Spectrum Natural Canola oil 750ml
Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise Cereal Eco-Pac 750g
Kettle Potato Chips 150g
Organic White Basmati Rice (bulk)
Organic Red Lentils (bulk)
Hemp Plus Organic Waffles 312g
The prices of rice cakes ($.99), potato chips ($1.99), basmati rice ($1.99 Lb) and cereal ($5.99) were the same. Essence was cheaper when it came to red lentils ($2.19 Lb / $2.69), frozen waffles ($3.99 / $4.19) and tamari almonds ($6.99 Lb / $7.49). Tutti Frutti prevailed in miso paste ($4.99 / $5.99), soy yogurt ($2.69 / $2.99) and canola oil ($5.29 / $6.99).
Overall, a shopping basket full of all these items would have cost $38.30 at Tutti Frutti and $40.10 at Essence. Tutti Frutti wins.
As I stared at my calculator I began to wonder what would become of my routine? How could I ever buy soy yogurt at Essence again knowing I'd be saving three dimes a tub at the place up the street? But what to do about the lentils? Maybe I should just drop the whole organic thing?
The reality of the matter is that, aside from price, there really are reasons why I might want to go to both stores. Tutti Frutti has a far superior selection of bulk spices, flour, cereal and rice. But they fail to stock some of the essential items on my weekly shopping list.
Essence has a better selection of soy products such as tofu, ice cream, cheese and yogurt. They have bulk tahini, peanut and apple butter while Tutti Frutti just has the bottled variety. They also have more snack foods like chips and energy bars and a decent selection of organic vegetables.
Essence of Life, 56 Kensington. 416.597.2176
Tutti Frutti, 64 Kensington. 416.593.9281
Comments (18)
Basmati rice 7.99 for 10lb bag in little india, on Sept 25 2005, that's 80 cents a pound, compared to the kensigton market price of 1.99, and it comes in neat little canvas bag with a zipper that can be reused. Of course you give up the I shop in Kensington cool factor, but little India has a lot to offer.
m.
From my experiences, the staff at Essence are much more knowledgable about health food compared against Tutti. Essence also has these awesome weekly sales on items that are close to their expiry dates. I usually eat most of my food by the end of the week, so it works out perfect for me!
Sue
Great article, but I am still a loyal Essence fan. I find the staff at Essence to be much more knowledgeable than at Tutti Frutti. Essence also stocks more variety in many items-they have the best bulk tofu in the market! (Very firm, great for stir-frying) They also have excellent prices on natural cosmetics like Dr. Hauschka and Weleda. I used to pay $12 more for the same product at other stores in Toronto.
Essence is the best because the staff there are much more knowledgeable and experienced about health products, and which ones to use and how to use - very down to earth friendly-ness
I used to supply both honey and maple syrup to Essence & t
Tutti fruitti but now only direct from our farm for info please email
If I go into essence with tutti frutti merch, they'll always ask what I paid...they'll price match no question.
I like tutti better but ya I'll shop them both
Hi,
I'd say that you're drawing a conclusion from too small a pool of goods, and you're not taking quality into account. Tutti Frutti is quite the superior store in most respects, though I wouldn't buy bulk from either. Noah's for bulk is both cheaper, fresher, and mostly local. Also, I beg to differ on the fact of the cleanliness of Essence. It smells bad often. Finally, I doubt they are the same owners. Not.
They're actually different owners. Tutti Frutti DOES own and run another organic store on Augusta (unfortunately, the name escapes me.)
I love that kensington market offers so much for shoppers. i also want to put in a good word for Sugar & Spice, located just north of Nassau on Augusta Ave. The owners are super friendly and knowledgeable especially about natural remedies, though their selection is a bit limited compared to the stores on Kensington Ave.
I appreciate the specials and the more open layout of Essence vs. Tutti Fruity, but I have also noted a funky smell in the store on numerous occasions. I wonder if they keep their coolers cool enough. You need to watch the expiration dates carefully at Essence, tho they have gotten better about this in the last couple of years.
When I first moved to Toronto, I've gone into both stores. Though price matters (hence why I shop at Kensington these days more often than anywhere else) but so does quality and my shopping experience. I've usually found everything I need at Tutti Frutti and the staff are super nice and are always sweeping & cleaning the store. I'm not dedicated to any brand name, so that probably makes it easier. I just found Tutti Frutti cozier and homey so I always return.
I'm going to try shopping at Karma Food Coop. They are renovating their space as we speak and I guess we'll see how it pans out. My friend adores that place. When she had an emergency and the store was already closed, the staff came down to open it just for her! Wow!
I used to work for Essence, and the "funky" smell comes from their vinegar-based floor cleaner, a much safer alternative to harmful BLEACH! They choose not to expose their organic produce to hazardous cleaning agents. Anyway, I no longer work there but still return to shop because I am shocked at some of the prices other stores charge for the same merch. It's a great store.
I, too, do my weekly grocery shopping at both stores but I have some not so positive experience with Essence. One time, they tried to sell some expired fruit jam and I caught it just before I paid. The expiry date was printed on the lid and it was covered with a piece of paper. I went back to the shelf to exchange for another one with proper date. When I went back to pay for it, the cashier was mad at me for doing that saying that only those with expired date are on sale. She was reluctant to sell to me at the stated sale price even though that's what it said on the bottle. She then went and yelled at the stocking clerk for not being careful. First of all, reputable stores don't sell food that are past expired dates. Secondly if the sticker price says what is it, the store has the obligation to sell at that price. She should not have been mad at me and reluctant to sell. I think she's probably one of the owner/management. From there on, I don't go back to that store any more. Why should I give them my business when they are sneaky about selling food that has expired!! Tutti-Frutti is a much better store with great price and people are more ethical.
Russ, What's your email address? I am interested in purchasing honey and maple syrup, agave @ wholesale prices.
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