Thrive Market offers healthy food at competitive prices online

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (KABC) -- Thrive Market CEO Gunnar Lovelace has put his career efforts into establishing an online market to help people make healthy choices.

"I grew up with a single mom. Very poor. Saw how hard she worked to make healthy choices," Lovelace said.

Two years and 600-employees later, Thrive Market offers natural, non-GMO organic products nationwide.

"We sell the healthy alternative at the same price as the conventional equivalent. They can save 25 to 50 percent off and have the convenience factor of it shipped to their home," he said.

However, the service is not exclusive to non-perishable foods.

"It's your grocery. It's your cleaning. It's your baby care. It's your supplement. It's your protein powders. It's your snacks," Lovelace stated.

Though not as broad as Amazon's "all things to all people" concept, Lovelace looks to help those in need receive healthy goods at home.

For two years Thrive Market has attempted to help its members use food stamps online. Thanks to a new USDA program there is a pilot program beginning soon.

"We'll finish the application in December and then they're actually going to launch the pilot program middle of next year," Claire Schmidt, the director of gifts for Thrive Market said.

Currently, each time a customer purchases a $60 year-membership Thrive Market gives away one free membership to veterans, teachers, students and low-income families.

"We also provide stipends for lowest income members. So they're actually starting off with money in their account," Schmidt said.

"We're giving them an extra $100 off spread out over four purchases. And the goal is to kind of get them in the habit of shopping online, get them in the habit of buying healthy products over time," Schmidt added.

According to Schmidt, Thrive Market have given away 300,000 free memberships to those in need.