The Review Hive

I tried Thrive Market, and I have some thoughts.

I ordered groceries from Thrive Market for two weeks. Thrive Market is an online grocer claiming to be different than other big box stores. Here’s a screenshot from its website:

As a self-professed health nut, I love this idea. I want high-quality food and drinks. I don’t want to create a lot of waste that will be here hundreds of years after I die. I prefer a high-protein diet with all the nutrients I need, and none of the extra ingredients I don’t need, like synthetic colors or artificial flavors. So, we’re off to a good start. Plus, no shopping in-person? I’m in.

Disclaimer: I may earn commissions on qualified purchases through links in this article.

Get 40% off your first order at Thrive Market

Thrive Market Shopping Experience

Thrive Market is set up just like your local grocery store. You can browse by category (like pantry, meat, baby, etc.), diet (gluten-free, vegan, etc.) or brand. You can also quickly add items you’ve purchased before in the “buy it again” section. You can also shop deals, and even set up recurring deliveries so you don’t forget your usuals. Some recurring deliveries offer a discount.

When you view your cart, you’ll see your items are separated by a grocery box and a frozen box. You have to meet an order minimum for each to get free shipping. Currently, that’s $49 for the grocery box and $65 for the frozen box. If you don’t meet the minimum requirements, you’ll pay $5.95 and $19.95 for the grocery box and frozen box, respectively.

You can also shop by what matters: like ethically sourced, certified fairly traded, low-waste, upcycled, and more.

On average, the check-out time on the Thrive Market app is 4 minutes and 22 seconds and about 8 and a half minutes on desktop. I prefer the desktop shopping, but that’s just my preference when shopping anywhere.

Food Choices at Thrive Market

I was interested in Thrive Market because it claimed to be great for special diets and had organic, high-quality food. It definitely has sustainable, high-quality food, and I love that. However, the special diet seems to be mainly gluten-free. There are an abundance of gluten-free snacks, meals, and more available. There are non gluten-free foods available, too. However, I’m not gluten-free so I felt a larger selection of non gluten-free products would suit me better. However, I highly recommend Thrive Market to anyone who is gluten-free.

I do love that the food at Thrive Market is junk-free. It has a team of experts that ensure there’s no unnecessary ingredients like added sugars and preservatives. They even test for heavy metals, like mercury, lead, and arsenic, in all baby and kids’ products.

Get 40% off your first order at Thrive Market

Thrive Market Prices

Thrive Market has a savings guarantee. If you find a lower price somewhere else, you’ll get the difference between its price and the lower price added to your Thrive Cash, which you can use toward your order total.

Thrive Market Sustainability

Thrive Market provides carbon-neutral shipping. You’ll even find how you’ve helped the planet by shopping there. Here’s a screenshot of my impact:

This makes me feel included in the sustainability efforts, and I love it. The carbon avoided is based on Thrive Market’s ground shipping only (never by air), so your orders emit, on average, 70% less carbon. Thrive Market’s warehouses are TRUE certified and zero waste. It recycles or repurposes 90% of materials that enter.

I appreciate that Thrive Market puts an effort into its sustainability, and I wish more companies would do this.

Giving Back with Thrive Market

You can donate to expand access to healthy food through Thrive Gives, a promise to give an annual membership to Thrive Market with every purchase of an annual membership. You can gift your savings or any dollar amount at checkout to help Thrive Gives reach its $20 million goal by 2030.

The Bottom Line

Would I shop at Thrive Market again? Yes! I love what its doing with organic, high-quality food with no junk, and its sustainability and charity work. However, it’s not my go-to grocer since I need more non gluten-free foods in my life. But for some nice healthy-alternative snacks, pantry staples, and fresh produce, I am all in.

Get 40% off your first order at Thrive Market

Disclaimer: I may earn commissions on qualified purchases through links in this article.