After two years of rumors swirling that Erewhon was making its way to NYC,
scooped the news of its first location, a smoothie bar inside a KITH IVY, a new wellness-ish members club opening up in West Village, that has an initiation fee of $36,000 and $7,000 a month. If you’re wondering why KITH didn’t dupe them like everybody else considering they have their own food and drinks arm TREATS, it just adds to the allure of luxe and exclusivity, though you will be able to order the smoothies on Postmates and Uber Eats, because nothing screams luxury like ordering $30 worth of thawed smoothie slop. KITH x EREWHON is like the clout chasing final boss, a hypebeast store meets a hypebeast grocer.
But are smoothies enough to capture New York City, who has an abundant supply of high end grocers like the upcoming Meadow Lane, Happier Grocery, Pop Up Grocer, Butterfield Market, the list goes on…I decided to poll my followers, “Does an Erewhon stand alone smoothie bar have the same vibe for you as the OG thing?” out of the 3,351 people who responded, 25% said yes and 75% of them said no. Allegedly, Erewhon closed on $500M at a $2B valuation last year, not only tha tbut Stripes invested back in 2019 and took a stake in the company, so it’s not a surprise that expansion plans beyond LA would eventually materialize. New York City’s retail landscape is brutal, and unless you find yourself owning the building you’re operating with, operating a grocer in some prime real estate would come with a hefty price tag. Though Erewhon may be an outlier in the category, making most of its money not from groceries (though their margins here are juicier) but celebrity smoothie collabs and their infamous hot meal bar.
Erewhon has invested in expanding their ecommerce abilities, they can ship select products to other countries now, being able to extend and capitalize on their cultish following beyond the US. This may be what answers our original question—can Erewhon be luxury beyond its exclusive zip codes? It looks that way. They already charge a $100 membership to get perks at their physical store, so couldn’t they do the same, whether it’s a smoothie bar or cafe? I know many people that would happily accept that fee if it means being able to post their smoothies on their social media of choice.
If KITH is for the collectors, Erewhon smoothies are for the clout chasers.
the fact that this Erewhon has an initiation fee is bonkers