Is Thrive Market Worth It 2023? An Honest Review
Thrive Market is making healthy grocery shopping easier and more affordable. This online grocery store focuses on high quality, sustainability, and affordability.
I've been a paying Thrive Market member for over two years now and thought I would share my experience. Plus enjoy 40% off your first Thrive Market order!
This post does contain some affiliate links which means The Honest Consumer may receive a commission if you decided to purchase. Our commission is at no additional expense to you!
What is Thrive Market?
Thrive Market is a membership online grocery shop where organic, non-GMO food and healthy products can be purchased at lower prices.
Thrive Market has a wide range of goods including organic groceries, gluten-free products, meat, seafood, wine, vitamins & supplements, beauty products, and more. Thrive Market places a focus on responsibly sourced products, high standards, organic, and sustainable goods.
Why I Joined Thrive Market?
I am a passionate advocate of sustainability and try to purchase goods that match my values. This means I try to buy organic whenever it is possible, non-GMO, low waste items, and ethically sourced goods.
However, buying organic food can be really costly. I had read that Thrive Market tried to be competitive with their prices and compete with grocery stores retail prices, so this intrigued me.
On top of the financial and sustainability aspects, I was diagnosed with a grain intolerance (no rice, wheat, gluten, oats, corn, etc.) in the beginning of 2021. This dietary restriction totally changed the way I eat and the foods that I can purchase.
There are a lot of alternative products such as crackers made from almond flour, tortilla chips made from cassava flour, that I can't purchase at a regular grocery store and that I have to go to a specialty health grocery store for.
I was intrigued by the idea that Thrive Market could make finding my alternatives easier as you can actually shop by dietary restrictions on their website. Instead of having to head to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's I can have some of my favorite things delivered right to my doorstep.
As of 2023 I have been able to add select grains back into my diet which has been great. And even though my diet is less restricted, I’m still a subscribing member of Thrive Market! I think Thrive Market is a great option for anyone who just wants to eat cleaner.
How Does Thrive Market Work?
To get started, you have to join Thrive Market's membership.
How Much Does Thrive Market Cost in 2023?
In 2023 customers can pay monthly membership fee of $12 or join with an annual membership fee of $60 ($5 a month). With the yearly plan you can try it risk free.
If you are unhappy with the market they will give you a full refund if you cancel the membership within 30 days of signing up. Once you're signed up then you will be redirected to create your own online account.
Does Thrive Market Offer Free Shipping?
Thrive Market offers free shipping when your order total hits a certain amount.
Grocery: Free shipping on orders over $49, or $5.95 shipping if not
Frozen: Free shipping on orders over $120, or $19.95 shipping if not (A $65 order minimum is required to checkout with frozen)
Wine: Free shipping on orders over $79, or $13.95 shipping if not
How to Shop Online at Thrive Market?
You can then log in and shop from a wide range of healthy groceries and natural products. After you've checked off everything from your shopping lists and placed the online order, your order will be shipped to you and show up at your door step.
One of the cool features is you can see your lifetime savings on your account page. Thrive Market compares the prices of the items you purchased from their online store to market prices at grocery stores.
Here is a quick look at the home page, aisle, and different ways to shop at Thrive Market!
Home page of Thrive Market after customer logs in
Shopping by Dietary Restriction
While customers can shop by aisle or brand, one of my favorite parts about Thrive Market is the ability to shop by a specific diet. Customers can filter by gluten free, grain free, keto, paleo, vegan, low FODMAP, organic, and many more.
This is a great way to easily avoid the overwhelm of the grocery store as someone with dietary restrictions. You can quickly find foods you can eat with one click.
Is Thrive Market Sustainable?
Thrive Market has a lot of eco-friendly initiatives. As a certified B Corporation, I think they're doing a great job at making every effort to be sustainable.
I'm excited about their future plans including more sustainable products, bringing on more organic brands, plastic neutrality, and expanded accessibility to healthy goods.
Carbon Neutral
Thrive Market is carbon neutral thanks to carbon offsets, wind-powered warehouses, and ground shipping. Their future plans include investing more in regenerative agriculture so they can become carbon negative by 2025.
Waste Management & Plastic neutrality
Since 2015, Thrive Market has diverted 90% of waste generated by their warehouses away from landfills to be recycled, composted, or reused.
In 2022 Thrive Market was able to reduce plastic shipping materials by 70%. The plastic used for shipping their own brand products and shipping all member orders is Plastic Neutral Certified through their partnership with rePurpose Global.
rePurpose Global recovers an equal amount of plastic from nature to match the amount Thrive Market’s plastic materials create.
Non-GMO & Organic Products
At the time this article was written, it is reported that Thrive Market is the largest non-GMO food retailer in the U.S. This stat was based on the number of non-GMO products sold versus total product offered.
This includes products that do not have genetically modified alternatives. Along with their wide range of non-GMO products they carry over 2000 organic products.
shopping organic groceries at Thrive Market
Responsibly Sourced
Thrive Market focuses on sourcing responsibly sourced groceries. Specifically their store brand, Made by Thrive Market, works directly with farmers and suppliers to create ethically sourced staples made with sustainably sourced ingredients. You can find over 600+ products from their store brand sourced with these values in mind.
Thrive Market Gives Back
Since Thrive Market believes healthy food is a priority, not a privilege, they are working with non-profits to make healthy food more accessible.
Thrive Market has partnered with FoodCorps which works with high-need communities across the country to connect kids to better-for-you food in school. They have also partnered with Baby2Baby which provides children (ages 0–12) and families living in poverty with healthy essentials and groceries.
For every paid Thrive Market membership, a free membership is donated to someone in need.
Customers can also make donations at check out.
An Honest Thrive Market Review
I have absolutely LOVED being a Thrive Market member. As someone with a dietary restriction Thrive Market has made it incredibly easy to purchase the alternatives I need AND discover new snacks that I didn't even know existed.
When I was having to eat completely grain free, I was able to shop by “grain-free” in the diet section. Through this feature I discovered so many awesome new snacks that I didn’t even know existed.
Is Thrive Market Cheaper Than The Grocery Store?
I have done some price comparisons while shopping at the grocery store and I do think Thrive Market products feature slightly lower price points.
According to our Thrive Market account, the first year (2021) we paid $59 for the annual membership and saved $479.89 when comparing the prices of what we bought to grocery store prices.
Shipping is FAST. It might just be where I live by my Thrive Market boxes always order within 2-3 businesses days which I appreciate, especially when I'm trying to plan for dinners.
I also love that Thrive Market has regular sales and features regular promotional offers with a free gift. I think this makes it more accessible to try new products. I've discovered a few snacks I love from their free gifts!
My Favorite Thrive Market Products
I think these are some of the best products from Thrive Market! I order these regularly!
Simple Mills Crackers- While I wrote the crackers on my list...I LOVE all Simple Mills products. I think they make some of the best almond flour based grain free products. Their cookies, crackers, pizza dough, and muffin mixes have been amazing.
Kicking Horse Coffee- This organic fair trade coffee is one of my go-to brands. I love the Kick Ass coffee which is a dark roast.
Kettle & Fire Chili- This is one of my go-to quick lunches during the cold months.
Thrive Market’s Organic Grain-Free Stuffing Mix- When I was first diagnosed with my grain intolerance I was devastated that I couldn't have stuffing at Thanksgiving. But thankfully Thrive Market makes this amazing mix.
Califia Cold Brew- This direct trade coffee is my go-to morning drink during the warmer months. I actually tried this through one of Thrive's promotional offers. It came free with one of our previous purchases and we fell in love with this cold brew.
Thrive Market’s Organic Grain Free Granola- Granola was another food I was really missing after being diagnosed with a grain intolerance, but the Vanilla and Cinna-Yum grain free granola is AMAZING!
Wandering Bear Cold Brew- This organic cold brew coffee is my go-to when the weather is warmer.
Along with my favorite items listed above we buy a lot of our pantry items such as almond flours, olive oils, chicken stock, avocado oil, healthy snacks, and spices from Thrive Market.
I appreciate that it's so easy to have pantry staples delivered to my door. It saves me a lot of time when I do go to my local grocery store since there is less I have to find.
Thrive Market Frozen Products Review
We’ve ordered frozen products from Thrive Market multiple times. I was a bit hesitant at first because the idea of receiving frozen groceries scared me a bit, but every time the meat and frozen meals have come in great condition! Everything has remained frozen during shipping.
I really love all of the organic meat options they have. We particularly like their grass-fed ground beef, organic pasture raised chicken breasts, wild-caught shrimp, and Capello’s grain free frozen pastas. These are all go-to items when we make a Thrive frozen order.
We also really enjoy ordering easy frozen meals to have around for quick lunches!
Is Thrive Market Worth It?
For me personally, I would say yes. As someone with a food intolerance there are certain items that can be hard to find and that I can only get at health food stores, so having them easily delivered to my door step has been a huge help.
Even if you don’t have a food intolerance, but are just looking to eat more healthy & organic foods, I think Thrive Market is worth it!
As far as saving money, our Thrive Market account says we saved $479.89 in the first year based on their prices compared to grocery store prices.
I also appreciate that I can easily see the values of each food brands and learn about their sustainability. I feel that Thrive Market has helped us save money and made grocery shopping easier.
If you have dietary needs, are looking to purchase more organic foods, or are just looking to take a bit of the stress out of grocery shopping, I think this online marketplace is an excellent option and worth a try.
Tips for Shopping with Thrive Market
After being a Thrive Market subscriber for three years here are a few tips!
Thrive Market Discount Code
If you're interested in giving Thrive Market a try you can use my referral link for 40% off your first order.
Download the app
Downloading the Thrive Market app is super handy! Whenever we run out of something I immediately pull out my phone and add it to my cart, so I don’t forget. Once my order is large enough I place the order.
Take Advantage of Thrive Cash
Thrive Cash is Thrive Market’s reward system! By purchasing certain products, leaving reviews, or referring friends you can earn Thrive Cash to help you save money on your groceries.
Order More Than Just Food
When I first started using Thrive Market I was only purchasing groceries! But now I save money by purchasing my supplements, cleaning products, wine, and cat food from Thrive too! So be sure to explore the other types of products they offer.
Hopefully this review helped you decide if Thrive Market is a good fit for your lifestyle!
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