A health store retailer for 46 years, Erica Murray is a popular and influential figure on the health food scene in Ireland. This month she was elected President of Health Stores Ireland. Here, she talks with Natural Newsdesk about her “huge passion for the natural products industry”, the remarkable bond between Ireland’s independent health store retailers – and how her new role allows her to harness the power of connection. 

Natural Newsdesk: Congratulations on being elected President of Health Stores Ireland. You’ve been deeply involved with the association from the beginning, so how does it feel to be elected into this high visibility role? 

Erica Murray: I feel honoured for sure to be elected by my retail colleagues, having been a founder member of HSI back in 1986.  While I have never enjoyed being in the limelight, the warmth of the good wishes I have received from both the Irish and British sectors of our industry has made me realise that networking down the years both here and in the UK has been very worthwhile and is a big plus in enabling me to fly the flag for Health Stores Ireland.

NN: Lots of people will know you as the founder of the Hopsack in Dublin, a co-founder of Health Stores Ireland, and a high profile figure on the natural and organic retail scene. But for those who don’t know you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the heath food world – what inspires and motivates you to do what you do? 

EM: “High profile”? I’m not so sure about that! I simply connect with people and have a huge passion for the natural products industry. I also happen to have had a health store for 46 years (now principally owned and run by my children, Kate and Finn, although I’m still involved) and have attended UK trade shows annually since the early ‘80s. Alongside retail, I trained as a Master Medical Herbalist in my 60s and went on to run a practice for nine years.

“High profile”? I’m not so sure about that! I simply connect with people and have a huge passion for the natural products industry”

I started out on life as a secretary, studied social science in my 20s and worked as a social worker before opening The Hopsack in 1979 with my husband – just 3 months after getting married. During these years (the ‘70s) I volunteered with Samaritans and the Irish Family Planning Association, where I cut my teeth on campaigning. The country I grew up in was very conservative and Catholic. Contraception was banned until 1979! The main thrust of my involvement with the IFPA was on the information and education side of things and finding workarounds to this ban, specifically the supply of condoms.

“I rail against inappropriate and disproportionate regulation of food supplements and herbal products, diminishing consumer choice”

Educating and informing our customers with empathy is still to this day a cornerstone of The Hopsack’s ethos. I rail against inappropriate and disproportionate regulation of food supplements and herbal products, diminishing consumer choice. This drove me to work with the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) in the early noughties, seeing them as the group that best represented my standpoint and who were devoid of commercial bias, having no vested interests. To this day I fail to understand the antipathy there was by our trade associations back then to ANH, mainly in the UK, although a few enlightened manufacturers supported their work privately.  I also served on the board of the U.S.National Health Federation (NHF) for a time, whose work was largely in relation to its work on Codex Alimentarius.  Global restrictive regulation was on its way, but industry groups simply weren’t joining the dots. Both ANH and NHF continue their work on health freedom to this day and I continue to value my strong links with ANH.

All this experience, both here and abroad, informed who I was and the views I still hold to this day.  Health store owners are their own best customers!  Can this be said of suppliers and manufactures of big brands? The bottom line is that the consumer’s right to choose should be sacrosanct, except for regulation around safety of course. Too often the argument for regulation is couched in terms of protecting public health, when in fact it is about enabling global commerce for the large corporates – ie harmonisation.

NN. How would you like to use your new role, and the visibility it creates? And what do you see as the primary functions of a retailer trade association in our sector today, and in the wider fast-moving retail and business environment (in short, how do they stay relevant)?

EM: This begs the question as to why I was elected! The truth is I’m not sure, as I have always regarded myself as somewhat of a troublesome backbencher, preferring the freedom of not being an office holder. I guess I’m definitely a senior citizen in reality and as one of the founder members of HSI back in 1986, I still remain very much involved in the sector, although I have pulled back from the day-to-day running of The Hopsack.  

While largely a ceremonial role, most people in HSI know who I am and what I stand for in relation to health. Broadly stated, enabling people to manage their own health in natural ways, minimising the use of pharmaceutical medicines, is my passion. Anything that can help or hinder these aims goes on my agenda. Inevitably, regulation is a big one.

The idea of forming a joint trade association (suppliers/manufacturers/retailers) was rejected by retailers back in 1986. Retailers felt, while we shared obvious commonalities with suppliers/manufacturers, we had a different focus: we were more driven by consumer interests, while suppliers and manufacturers were more driven by commercial interests, although there are of course crossovers. Two separate associations in Ireland – HSI (formerly IAHS) and IHTA (Irish Health Trade Association) were born. We enjoy a friendly relationship and we continue to cooperate and collaborate on with one another. Both associations have gone from strength to strength, contributing to the renowned vibrancy of the Irish sector.

Together we’re stronger, whether that be in a retail trade association, or in a manufacturer/suppler organisation – and the two can collaborate when appropriate, particularly when it comes to challenges such as regulation.   

In Ireland we had a recent example of this collaboration in 2019 when HSI and IHTA campaigned together against the government’s threat to impose 23% VAT on supplements (previously zero%), which we managed to get reduced to 13.5%. Shortly it is planned to collaborate on a consumer campaign in relation to the setting of MPLs for food supplements.

NN: What would be your message to retailers who are not yet members. And how would you summarise the benefits of membership to them, their businesses and the wider independent health food channel? 

EM: My advice to non-members is to come on board! While HSI  have about 200 member stores currently, there are always a few outliers who don’t see the advantage of membership and who may not understand what they are missing out on. 

While I have this platform, I’ll list some of the benefits HSI members can access:

• Two-monthly discount offers from suppliers offering big savings.
• Our very active WhatsApp group used by two-thirds of the membership.  It has become so popular, it is now divided into six sections – of which, Product Finder and Chat group are the busiest.
• Our annual trade show in Shannon. The opportunities afforded to members at this one day event make this an unmissable event.
• Regular zooms – Campfire zooms for members to discuss whatever they want, Meet the Makers zooms for individuals/companies to promote their products to members.  
• HSI is a member of ISME (the Irish SME association), through which our members can access free HR advice and avail of subsidised trainings which are designed by us and sponsored by them.
• An exceptional National Organiser in Alan McGrath, who holds the whole association together, and sits on ISME’s National Council.

NN: Do you see an opportunity to bring other like-minded independent retailers – where there is sufficient cross-over of values and product category – into the fold? How tightly defined is the term ‘health store’ in terms of membership eligibility?

EM: This question has been the subject of much discussion and debate among members over the years. Apart from pharmacies which are excluded from membership, we have settled on a case-by-case assessment of  applicants by Council, ensuring that only ‘bona fide’ health stores are accepted. Applicants must sign the Code of Ethics and Mission Statement.  They become provisional members for 2+ years and are able to access a restricted range of membership benefits until full membership is granted.

As long as the main emphasis of applicant stores is natural health, we’re not too restrictive, but we do insist on training. It is a requirement that all staff successfully complete our Customer Care Protocol within six months of working in a health store, which emphasises safe and appropriate selling.  Last year we launched a video to assist with this training, which illustrates a few real life scenarios and was filmed in a health store.  We also encourage members to complete the Institute of Health trainings.

NN: Health Stores Ireland has created some ambitious consumer-facing marketing campaigns, including TV ads. How important is it to maintain that conversation with consumers? 

EM: It is important, but not always possible to run consumer-focussed campaigns regularly, due to budgetary constraints and just plain energy and manpower. Danny Wells encouraged retailers to focus on customer retention, rather than on gaining new customers. He would say retailers should never lose a customer, except due to a house move or death. The advent of loyalty cards in the past decade has made the task of customer retention a simpler affair.

HSI has recently run a ‘Customer Insights’ survey with a prize fund of €1,000 as an inducement to participants. When the findings are revealed, we hope to have some useful facts and figures to share, which will help us see the bigger picture in terms of consumer spending practices.

EM: It’s sometimes said that there is a stronger sense of community among health food retailers in Ireland (compared to the UK), which in turn produces higher levels of engagement and participation in industry initiatives and events. In what ways does Health Stores Ireland nurture and strengthen that proactive networking tradition?

“People know people here and we are ace communicators! I often refer to ‘Ireland the village’ – we’re very connected as a tribe.  This makes it easier for us to bond as a diverse group of independent health store owners”

EM: We’re a relatively small community in Ireland with a population of just over 5 million. People know people here and we are ace communicators! I often refer to ‘Ireland the village’ – we’re very connected as a tribe.  This makes it easier for us to bond as a diverse group of independent health store owners. With that foundation, we have been able to drive participation rates of our various initiatives, although it involves a lot of ongoing hard graft by our full-time National Organiser – the king of networking!

NN: What do you think the channel can do to convert more health-conscious consumers into health store regulars? (Typically 65,75,80% of people will tell pollsters they want be healthier or eat more healthily – but only 5-10% will ever cross the threshold of a health food store!)?

EM: This is exactly what we are working on at the moment with our ‘Customer Insights’  survey launched in May. It is hoped the findings will be quite revealing about consumer attitudes to health stores, how we are perceived and consumer spending patterns, both in health stores and in other retail outlets. Results are due out imminently. We’re always doing battle (in our heads) with the 90% of consumers who never darken our doors. This is an attempt to analyse the reasons for this.

NN: Health Stores Ireland’s National Organiser, Alan McGrath, has recently highlighted the impact that the subscription sales model (in health and wellness products) is having on independent health stores. With many specialist natural health brands prioritising direct-to-consumer sales, how can indie retailers strengthen their position?

EM: Online selling has become a much greater issue for independent health stores since the pandemic. Health stores are being bypassed increasingly by producers going straight to online platforms, not seeing the huge advantage to selling product through independent health stores, where trained staff who are trusted by their customers in their local communities, actively promote products brands they like and trust.

“Health stores are being bypassed increasingly by producers going straight to online platforms … Once producers commit exclusively to this or any online sales model, they will have burned their boats where health stores are concerned”

The subscription sales model is one of these DTC models, which some have referred to as ‘bubble gum’ sales – they eventually burst. While it’s an easy route to market, subscription sales for a single product are unlikely to be sustainable over a long period. Once producers commit exclusively to this or any online sales model, they will have burned their boats where health stores are concerned

We must continue to sell ourselves to producers as the destination for informed and impartial advice on products, with trained staff, selling what is most appropriate for any one individual, while committing ourselves to promoting the best products and the most trusted brands.

But online selling is also a great opportunity for health stores, with more and more stores offering an online service to their customers. However, it’s important that this revenue stream makes commercial sense and is closely monitored and analysed, as both the time and costs involved are considerable. Smaller stores can fool themselves.        

HSI affords the opportunity to producers – new and old – to promote their products in half hour ‘Meet the Maker’ zooms for members. This is one small way by which we encourage producers to choose independent health stores over exclusively online channels. We also maintain a list of small Irish producers which is constantly being added to by our National Organiser – a go-to list with contact details for easy access to products.

NN: What are the regulatory issues that Health Stores Ireland will be focusing on and prioritising in the coming few years? Are there specific threats or challenges that you see coming down the track? 

EM: We have proven that we are a resilient sector in Ireland, having had to re-think supply routes following the disruption to the UK-Ireland route following Brexit. We are hopeful that SPS checks, which have prevented imports of animal-origin products from the UK, will shortly be dropped, following the recent EU-UK summit.  

We have been awaiting the setting of maximum permitted levels (MPLs) since the passing of the FSD 23 years ago! With the publication of the report by the EU Heads of Agencies (HOA) last year, this is moving closer. The report also issued proposals on botanicals. The IHTA has already approached us with a view to jointly setting up a consumer campaign. Plans have yet to be worked out, but it seems that retailers will be called on once again to engage consumers in a campaign ahead of EFSA determining MPLs for food supplements.

The compilation of the Novel Foods list continues to grow, excluding many foods from around the world that weren’t on the EU market pre-1997. This has put a halt to so many newly discovered foods and is another block to innovation.

NN: Are there any upcoming Health Stores Ireland initiatives or plans you are particularly excited about? 

EM: A new NHT Health Summit will be launched in Dublin on 21^st September. Supported by both HSI and IHTA, this initiative promises to be a lively event.  Reports indicate that registrations are already rolling in and we hope some of our Health Stores UK colleagues might consider coming over for this event (register at www.nhtsummit.ie/register). HSI is currently putting plans in place for its fourth annual trade show in Shannon, Co. Clare to be held in January next.  These shows are what keep us connected as an industry!