Is a Thrive Market Membership Worth It?
You’ve seen their advertisements on Facebook and other social media sties. You’ve even seen celebrities touting it. Thrive Market is supposed to be the new way to shop for organic, healthy groceries. It comes at a price, but advertisements claim that you’ll save even more than your membership cost.
But is a Thrive Market membership really worth it, or is it just hype?
What is Thrive Market?
Thrive Market is sort of a cross between Costco and Whole Foods. You get organic, whole foods at wholesale prices. But here’s the great thing about Thrive – they also give back. Your $60 annual membership fee subsidizes a second membership, which the company gives to someone in need.
How do they do this?
Thrive has partnered with the United Way, Feeding America and other non-profits to identify low-income families in need. The company then gives free memberships to hungry families who live in food deserts. Their memberships allow them to order things like spices, pasta, nuts and canned vegetables at affordable prices, and have the food delivered right to their door.
About 56% of Thrive’s customer base is actually in the Midwest or Southeast – both areas that are prone to having food deserts.
On top of this, Thrive also uses 100% recyclable packaging and their shipping facilities are zero waste.
For the end user – you – Thrive Market allows you to save money while giving back and eating healthy. This sounds like a great deal, right? It actually is. It’s not surprising that Thrive now has more than 500,000 members.
Over the years, Thrive has greatly expanded its product selection and has even introduced its own label of products.
What About Their Quality?
Any product sold by Thrive Market must be thoroughly vetted by the company’s team and must meet the highest industry standards.
The company does not carry any food products with known GMO ingredients.
How Much Can You Save On Organic Products?
Thrive Market offers wholesale prices on organic, healthy foods.
Part of the reason they can offer such great prices is because many of the products are from their own brand. Think of it like Costco’s Kirkland brand. These are high-quality products, but you’re not paying the high price for the brand name.
Membership fees also contribute to lower prices.
Thrive Market says members save an average of $30 per order. Thrive Market also says that if you don’t make your back your membership in savings, they will refund you the difference – no questions asked. That refund comes in the form of Thrive Cash, which is automatically applied to your next purchase through Thrive Market.
You’ll need to renew your membership to get this benefit, but because you get back what you didn’t save, I see this as a win-win.
The company says it offers prices that are 25-50% off retail. Most people, they say, make back their membership fee in savings after just two orders.
Let’s do a little price comparison to see how much you can really save with Thrive Market compared to Amazon.
| Product | Thrive | Amazon |
| Native Forest Artichoke Hearts, Quartered | $3.48/can | $4.47/can |
| TruRoots Organic Sprouted Green Lentils
| $4.29/10-oz bag | $6.16/10-oz bag
|
| Organic Valley Ghee | $10.99/13-oz jar | $16.72/13-oz jar
|
| AvoLov Avocado Powder
| $19.99/8-oz bag | $24.99/8-oz bag
|
As you can see, Thrive Market offers significant savings compared to Amazon.
Keep in mind that you may not be able to even find some of the products sold on Thrive at your local market.
If you live in an area that’s a food desert, you may not be able to find the same organic products or alternative products, like the avocado powder listed above.
You’ll need to do a little research and comparison on your own if you want to compare prices to your local grocer, as prices will vary depending on the store and location. But you can see that it’s easy to make back your membership in savings after just a few orders.
How Does Thrive Market Work?
Thrive Market makes it really easy to find the products you want based on your needs.
They tag everything, from certified vegan to nut-free, women-owned and carbon neutral. You can even shop by diet. So, whether you’re a vegan, a keto follower or avoiding dairy, you can easily find the products you want and need without having to weed through pages of products.
Here’s how you can filter your products through Thrive:
Diets
- Organic
- Gluten-free
- Raw
- Paleo
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- AIP diet
- Ketogenic
Certifications & Awards
- Certified vegan
- Certified gluten-free
- Fair trade certified
- Certified organic
- EWG verified
- Non-GMO project verified
- Whole30 approved
- Certified kosher
Health & Ingredients
- Contains probiotics
- Alcohol-free
- Caffeine-free
- Cholesterol-free
- Fragrance-free
- Dye-and-color-additive-free
- Dairy-free
- Essential oils
- Hypoallergenic
- Full of omegas
- High in protein
- High fiber
- No added sugar or sweetness
- Low fat
- Low sodium
- Low glycemic
- Paraben-free
- Nut-free
- No sulfites or Sulphur dioxide
- No antibiotics/synthetic hormones
- Pesticide-free
- Phthalate-free
- Preservative-free
- Peanut-free
- Salt-free
- Sugar-free
- Soy-free
- SLS-free
- Big 8 allergen-free
- Non-GMO
- Yeast-free
- Petroleum-free
- Grain-free
- Low FODMAP
- Plant-based
Environmental and Social
- BPA-free
- Biodegradable
- CFC-free
- Certified B corporation
- Compostable
- Chlorine-free
- Fair trade
- Cruelty-free
- Made in USA
- Made by hand
- Family-owned business
- Locally-sourced
- Recycled packaging
- Non-toxic
- PCW recycled
- Recyclable
- Supports charity
- Grass-fed
- Woman-owned business
- Sourced direct from farmers
- Safe for septic tank
- Ethically-sourced
- FSC certified
- Pasture-raised
- Turtle and dolphin safe
- Sustainably caught
- Sustainably farmed
- Biodynamic
- Free range
That’s a lot of labels. And these labels make it easy to find the products that suit your lifestyle.
If you only want to buy products from pasture-raised animals, Thrive makes it really easy to find these products.
In addition to pantry items and snacks, Thrive also sells meat, poultry and seafood that come from responsible farms. Meat and seafood come frozen, and they’re either pasture-raised, wild-caught or free range.
If you’re a meat-eater, you’ll find that their prices are on par with what you’d find locally or through other delivery-based services. In some cases, the prices may even be cheaper. But don’t expect them to be significantly cheaper.
What you’ll love about their frozen meat and seafood products is that you can read more about the farms they partner with and truly see how they treat their animals.
You can even buy baby, beauty, bath and body, and pet products right from Thrive Market. Again, all of these products are labeled for easy navigating. If you want fragrance-free body wash, for example, you can find it with the tap of a button.
You can shop online or through their Thrive Market app. You’ll find a selection of well-known brands as well as Thrive’s own label.
Getting started is really easy.
- Register – This part is free.
- Start your free trial – You get a free, 30-day membership trial when you sign up.
- Join the community – After your trial expires, join the community for $59.95 per year.
And if you spend $49 on an order, your shipping is free.
You also get free gifts when you spend $49 or $59.
On top of all of these benefits, you also get 25% off if you’re a first-time customer. Not only can you try out Thrive Market for free for 30 days, but you get additional savings when you place your first order.
If you’re new to Thrive Market, you really have nothing to lose. The free 30 days gives you a chance try out their service and see if it’s a good fit for your lifestyle. And you’ll even save money on your first purchase.
