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Many people operate under the assumption that eating healthy is prohibitively expensive. And while there is some truth to that in brick and mortar grocery stores, Thrive Market was created to close the gap and make healthier options accessible to everyone.
Among the fastest growing and most exciting e-commerce websites dedicated to organic food, Thrive Market is an incredible platform that empowers people to:
- Eat healthily
- Help those in need
- Promote sustainability
- Save money on groceries
How does it manage to do all that? This guide will walk you through how Thrive Market works, as well as show you some useful tips and tricks to help you maximize your savings through a Thrive Market coupon or promo code on the platform.
But first:
What is Thrive Market?
Thrive Market is an online food marketplace that operates on a membership model. It empowers users to shop for healthy food, even allowing them to search for by particular dietary preferences.
Thrive Market was founded in 2014 by four people with a vision for a better world: Gunnar, Kate, Sasha and Nick. All four founders come from different walks of life. But their shared vision was and still is-to make healthy food affordable for all families.
They invented a marketplace where anyone can shop for quality ingredients.
The marketplace cuts out middlemen and fees imposed by grocery stores, offering a platform for brands that are making a difference by sourcing goods locally and ethically. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
But the question remains:
How Does Thrive Work?
It promotes only the goods—and cuts out inefficiencies like middlemen.
When you shop at a local grocery store, the price you pay for any given food item is artificially inflated by a number of factors. One of the biggest is the long chain of events (and buyers and sellers) that brings it to your pantry:
- Farmers and manufacturers produce the goods
- They sell them to wholesalers and other middlemen
- These middlemen sell the goods to grocery stores at a markup
- The grocery stores mark the prices up further for you, the end buyer
With Thrive, that chain is smaller and simpler. Thrive connects you to the brands you love, bringing their healthy products directly to your door. The benefits of this simpler supply and distribution aren’t just financial, either; the environment also benefits from a simplified logistics solution.
All of this is made possible, in part, by membership fees that power the operation.
What Can You Buy at Thrive Market?
Thrive Market boasts over 6000 products ranging from food, health, beauty and personal care items to baby, pet and home supplies. It also offers a number of miscellaneous items from brands like Bragg, Seventh Generation, Primal Kitchen, Annie’s, Califa, Acure, Milkadamia, Burt’s Bees and KIND. When it comes to healthy food, Thrive doesn’t offer you the widest range of fresh produce, but it is abundant in meat, seafood, canned foods and other shelf-stable options like spreads and salsas. Choose from thousands of well-known organic brands or buy Thrive Market’s in-house branded products. Organic products are often artificially marked up by about 25–50% in grocery stores, so if you have strict dietary preferences or restrictions and a budget, Thrive is a good place to shop sustainably. It can be overwhelming in its variety, so look for customer-rated brands to make sure you get the best quality.
They also have a return policy that can help you if you’re not satisfied with your order—you just have to let them know within 21 days. You stand to benefit even more if you sign up for their annual membership, because if you don’t manage to save as much as you paid, they will give you the balance amount as store credit when you renew your membership.
How Much Does Thrive Cost per Month?
Thrive Market membership begins as a free first month.
If you’re curious about saving money on healthy foods, you can begin with a 30-day trial that’s 100% free, with absolutely no strings attached.
Those 30 days aren’t a limited access deal, either. For the duration of the Thrive Market free trial, it’s a full-fledged membership that gives you all the benefits every other Thrive Market member enjoys. Then, after that, how much is a Thrive Market membership?
A Thrive Market membership cost can be as low as five dollars per month, or $60 per year.
In other words, you’re paying the equivalent of a few coffees per month. Plus, that membership fee isn’t just for you. One of the most unique and important benefits of Thrive is that your membership also sponsors another membership for someone in need.
Is Thrive Market Legit?
Absolutely. It’s not only a great deal, it’s a great way to give back to those in need.
Through the Thrive Gives program, every single membership is matched one-for-one. This means that for your monthly membership fee, you’re also buying a membership for:
- A low-income family
- A student or teacher
- A first responder
- A veteran
Thrive Market empowers you to save money for yourself and help another family put food on their table. According to Thrive, over 300,000 members have also donated at checkout, totaling over $1.5 million dollars to vetted charitable organizations.
Is Thrive Worth It?
That depends.
Do you value eating healthy and giving back, all while saving money? If yes, then Thrive is definitely worth it. Even if you just care about the savings aspect, Thrive is worth it.
According to Thrive’s internal data, members can expect:
- To save about $30 dollars, on average, per order
- To save between 25-50% of retail pricing on all goods, site-wide
- To recoup their membership fees within about two orders, on average
In addition, Thrive guarantees your savings. If for whatever reason you don’t recoup your membership fees in savings within one year of membership, Thrive will credit you the difference when you renew your membership.
Now, let’s get into how you can maximize those savings.
Top Hacks and Strategies for Saving with Thrive
Shopping with Thrive, you’re already saving money relative to grocery stores and other online marketplaces. The free monthly trial is itself an incredible value, as well as the average savings detailed above. But those savings are available even if you don’t put in any extra effort.
For those who shop smartly, you can save even more.
Besides taking advantage of the many deals and discounts that are hard to miss, there are also some secrets to savvy savings on Thrive.
Let’s discuss them.
Always Begin with a Plan
The key to saving in any shopping scenario is going in with a plan. Rather than improvising, you should know what organic products you want and what you’re comfortable spending before you start adding things to your cart. This is as true online as it is in a store.
When it comes to food shopping, that means meal planning.
You should plan out your meals before you start buying ingredients. Meal planning is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle. By portioning out individual meals for a few days at a time, you can easily control calorie intake and overall nutritional intake.
It’s also a great way to keep your budget in check.
One of the best elements to include in your planning is to:
Buy Everything You Can in Bulk
Informed shoppers know that one of the best ways to save on food is to buy whatever you can in bulk. This goes for all goods.
Buying more of a given product generally drops the price per unit.
When shopping for groceries, there are certain items you need to buy fresh. There are many health benefits to using fresh, never-frozen options for things like dairy, or certain fruits and vegetables. But certain non-perishables and other items are perfectly fine to buy in large quantities and store for later use.
For instance, some classic bulk groceries include:
- Canned and frozen foods
- Cereals and grains
- Dried beans
- Potatoes
- Spices
- Nuts
Buying what you can in bulk helps to front-load costs and maximize savings in the long run. Paying more for large quantities enables you to save for weeks and potentially months to come. It’s also one of the best ways to ensure you hit the free shipping threshold ($49 dollars).
On the other end of the spectrum, it’s also wise to think shorter-term for certain goods.
Shop Seasonally and Locally
Shopping according to the season is an excellent way to save money.
In tandem, you’re supporting the local community and the broader environment. Thrive Market enables you to search for produce and other groceries that are sourced locally and organically. By shopping for products that grow naturally in-season, you cut down on shipping costs and lessen the environmental toll of freight shipping.
Plus, it’s a great way to keep your palette fresh with rotating, seasonal dishes.
On that note, it’s imperative to shop for whole ingredients rather than processed, pre-prepared foods. Why? The benefits are endless:
- Significantly lower costs
- Increased control over your nutrition
- Fewer or no pesticides and other contaminants
Local, ethically-sourced produce is almost always better for you and your wallet—and the planet—than out-of-season products processed and shipped from far-flung locations.
Take Advantage of Third-Party Deals
Saving money at Thrive isn’t just about taking advantage of the sales they offer. It also has to do with gaming every possible discount from third parties, like us.
RebateKey offers a robust suite of Thrive Market deals, including but not limited to:
- Automatic 1% cash back rebate on all purchases with Thrive
- Additional rebate incentives on select goods
- Endless discount codes on various items
Over the past month, Thrive Market members who’ve taken advantage of RebateKey deals have saved about $50 dollars on average.
Combine that with all the savings above, and there’s no reason not to sign up today.
Maximize Your Savings with RebateKey
With all the benefits listed above, there’s no reason to wait on healthy living. Start your Thrive free trial, and begin saving immediately. Then, check out RebateKey to maximize your savings at Thrive and everywhere else.
Here at RebateKey, we care about your savings. We’re dedicated to helping you save as much money as you possibly can, and not just on organic food. We offer buyer programs like rebates and coupons for all kinds of online shopping, helping you save no matter what you’re buying.
Plus, we make saving easy. There are no fees to pay; simply use our site to shop, or download our Chrome Extension to save effortlessly.
Maximum savings, every day: that’s RebateKey.
