Planet Organic Market

PO is a glorious organic grocery store where you never know what you might find.
I love to browse the aisles and peruse the different organic items. The price point is definitely higher but they have a great selection. I like to find a new item and then price compare at some other shops.
For a few years, I adored their Cosmic Cookies in their bakery section. They come in two packs and are comprised of oats, chocolate chips, raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut, and more. But then I found that the quality started to decline. Therefore, I should really just try baking them on my own.
I must say that PO has one of the best selections of kombucha. Lots of different types and sizes, and keep a look out for sales! Also, a wonderful selection of organic chocolates.
Make sure to price compare! But take a look and also grab some samples.

If you’re looking for a single stop for shopping organic and specialty foods, then this store is for you. The staff are freindly and often helpful. While I often frequent this store, I can only give two stars. The problem is price point. Many of the items in this store can be found elsewhere in the city for less… sometimes much less. Nevertheless, there are a few products I can find only there, so I return often.

Downtown location is amazing! Just opened a month ago or so and I love it. Great new deli, sushi, and an amazing selection of produce and grocery items. I live pretty close to here so this will be my go-​to grocery store.

If the produce prices were more competitive with other local markets that sell organic and Canadian, I’d give 5 stars.
Definitely the best selections of rootbeer and sugar free natural sodas. The deserts are great, whether you want gluten free, vegan, dairy free, or all in.
There are great, fresh food and beverage options for anyone. The staff are always near by and offering help.
I have to admit, I’m hooked. Some of the food options are better than the typical grocery store packaged alternatives and worth the extra pennies.

Recently I had to go gluten-​free for a month, so I decided to stop by Planet Organic and get some gluten-​free goodies (since they have way better selection than the big-​box grocery stores) and some of my fave Fiasco gelato.
The selection at this store is insane — if you take your time and look around you could accidentally end up shopping in here for an hour. The staff are wonderful — they kept asking if I needed a hand.
But, at the end of the day, the prices are just too much. I like the idea of supporting smaller business, and local vendors. I also like to shop organic when possible. But Planet Organic is just too pricey for me. This was exemplified when I saw an item that I had seen at another grocery store earlier that day for $ 3 more a box here.

I love what Planet Organic is about. We come here from time to time for kombucha, vegenaise mayo, pre made salads, treats and whatever else we may be looking for. However most things are overpriced and you can find the same products in other stores.

This place is very over priced for almost everything. Lemon juice $ 7.99 and for the exact same product at superstore is $ 3.99. And the list goes on and on. You can find the a lot of exact same things at other grocery stores for so much less. Also the bathroom are by far the most disgusting bathrooms I’ve been in a very very long time. No toilet paper, no soap, (they also use non environmentally friendly soap when it is full), the toilets are disgusting with black mold inside and underneath the bowl. The floors are cracking and it’s just all around a horrible experience. I have complained 2 times in person Aswell as I wrote in the comment box at least 3 times while shopping with only getting rude attitude from employees for asking for soap the first time and toilet paper the next. This last experience will be the last. I can not wait for Whole Foods to come!!! I will never go to Planet organic again!

New organic produce seems to come out at the start of the week. Feels medicinal in a good way when eating organic. Keeps the body feeling good!

I do go here for many of my fruits and veggies. The prices are reasonable for most things, and the staff are actually quite helpful. In fact, I feel like I’ve already wrote a review about this place, but apparently not.
I’ve never had an issue asking a stock person to check the back for extra stock, and I even had to return something once and it was mostly a non-​issue (minus the cashier staring at me blankly, while his coworker told him to call a supervisor).
It’d be great to see Edmonton open up more Organic food stores. Some grocery stores are getting a better selection. This just really isn’t that close to home so I don’t come too often.

I love this place for having the best quality organic and naturally grown health food.
They have high quality grass finsished frozen groundbeef (8.60 lb) and other cuts which are raised on a rotational grazing system to get the most nutrient rich meats.

They also sell the highest quality turmeric powder i’ve ever seen which is Demeter Biodynamic Certified sold by Organic Traditions.
Although Organic food in Canada is really expensive compared to the US and everywhere else in the world it is still worth buying if you care about your health and well being.
If you want REAL health food and money is not a concern this is where to get your groceries.

I admit I don’t shop at Planet Organic often because it’s quite pricey, but I wanted to review it because awhile back I was looking searching high and low for gluten flour and I discovered that Planet Organic has an awesome selection of Bob’s Red Mill Natural food products, which included the gluten flour I needed for a recipe. Ever since, I’ve come to PO for Bob’s Red Mill products whenever I’m looking for ingredients that may be otherwise difficult to come by at my regular grocery store (ex. masa harina flour [not the same as corn flour!] for homemade corn tortillas). I also like looking at their natural skincare/​beauty products and oogling the prepared food in their deli section. I wish Edmonton had a Whole Foods, but Planet Organic is a good substitute.

While I am much more of a fan of inexpensive produce, I have to admit, it just «feels» right to buy organic — for my body and health mind you, not my pocket book!
In a perfect world I would shop at Planet Organic for all my food needs. The store is well laid out, has lots of staff, is always clean and bright and even the «indulgence» foods are actually more on the good for you side of things than at a traditional grocery store.
Planet Organic also does a lot for the community of Edmonton, (where it was locally founded BTW). They are active in the community and support worthy events and charities like the Ronald McDonald House, which is in the neighborhood. I am definitely going to try to make an effort to shop here as much as I can.

Why does eating organic have to be so expensive?! If given the opportunity, I don’t know anyone that wouldn’t want to make smarter choices about the food they eat but when that comes as such a steep cost I can understand why I will always see more people at a big box grocery store than an organic market. Without being too biased about the cost– I think that Planet Organic has a great selection of items that you can’t really find anywhere else. They have every Bob’s Red Mill product you can dream up, which is great because I am hooked on their Kamut Cereal but it can be impossible to find. As others have mentioned there are some great drinks and snacks that are very unique and always worth trying. For people with food allergies or intolerances there is a huge selection of options that will work for them.
I am not blown away by this place and I have a feeling that when Whole Foods makes its way into Alberta that is will unfortunately be the start of more financial woes for this local company.

I’m kind of conflicted about this store. On the one hand, I think that being able to acquire local, organic products is a very good thing; on the other hand, this place is damned bloody expensive. I normally don’t pay much attention to the cost of food items, since I need to eat, regardless, but the first time I hit the check out, I nearly had a stroke when I saw the total.
In other news, this store is immaculately clean, and the staff will literally jump up to help you find something.

I love Planet Organic! I try to buy all organic food, and shop here every week. I don’t buy all of my food here because it can be pricey, but I do buy at least half of my weekly groceries at this location. They do have monthly sales that can be pretty decent. I do find some of their prices to be high, but this is a standard for any organic grocery store, as it seems to be.
I love their large selection of gluten free and vegetarian/​vegan foods. If you have any kind of dietary restriction, it would be likely you can find something here to suit your needs. I have always found the staff to be friendly, helpful and approachable. Particularly in the vitamin/​health and beauty section, the sales staff have been very helpful in providing information regarding vitamins and supplements as there are so many to choose from. Occasionally when I have been trying to decide between certain products, a staff member has offered recommendations and suggestions without my having to ask, which is always nice.
The takeaway food and baking is so insanely good. I’m obsessed with the pineapple tofu and vegan mac and cheese.

As someone who is allergic to gluten and eggs, Planet Organic has saved me. The food there is amazing baked while providing so many options. This grocery store has more gluten free products and varieties than I have ever seen anywhere else. The vegetables are also amazingly fresh and delicious. There is no single complaint that I have for this place, as I’m still in awe at all of the awesome new foods that I can eat.

Planet Organic! Why are you always out of plain soy yogurt?! I don’t even like the stuff but dammit! Sometimes I need it. I don’t like that I have to constantly phone ahead to make sure something so basic is available. The shelves are consistently full of flavoured yogurts but there is always a big empty space where the plain should be. From reading some of the other reviews, common items being sold out seems to be a common problem. Not cool. /​endrant
Other than that, Planet Organic usually has everything I’m looking for, of course at an inflated price. I really only purchase specialty items from here since items I could get at Safeway or Sobeys always seem to cost more here (e.g. brand name soy milks tend to be a good $ 0.50-$ 1 more at Planet Organic).
That being said, they do have a really interesting selection of specialty items, even compared to other Planet Organic locations I’ve been to. I especially like all of the unique sodas and juices you can get here. There’s always something new to try.

If Planet Organic could actually deliver upon everything it sets out to do, it would be awesome. But I’ve had more issues with the store than I’ve had positive experiences.
On a couple of occasions, I’ve seen nothing but wilted vegetables on the shelf. At other times, they are completely out of the vegetables I’ve come to buy. And the tofu, and all of the other goodies. What good is a supermarket if you can’t keep it stocked? I want to be able to rely on Planet Organic to purchase Green Cuisine Tofu. But apparently, I can’t.
Additionally, I’ve found some workers at the store to be incredibly friendly (almost too friendly), but I’ve found that other workers are miserable and frustrated. Like any other supermarket or Shoppers Drug Mart, Planet Organic enables you to get some cash back, but my checkout person only gave me cash back begrudgingly.
I like their queuing system, which is very similar to Wal-Mart’s express line, where everybody stands in one line and the next available check out person will help you check out.
I also feel like Planet Organic charges its patrons a premium because «organic» is trendy. I don’t get this feeling at Earth’s General Store, where I feel that I’m paying the high prices due to product cost and the store’s convenience for me.

**3.5 stars**
This is the first time I have stepped into this store and I am impressed. They have a large selection of organic foods, health food items, a large deli section and everything looks so fresh and inviting. I came here for some coconut water to boost up my potassium intake before running the Canadian Derby Marathon. I was surprised that they had so many brands of coconut water to choose from. I could have stayed in this store to browse some more, but because of time constraints, I will have to come back some other time. This store is comparable to Whole foods in the US. It’s lay out inside is very similar to Whole Foods. Hum, I wonder if they are affiliated in some way.
I took 1.5 star away because one of the shelf stocker saw me taking photos of the coconut water I was buying and stopped me. I told her that I was buying them and the cartons were already in my cart but still she won’t let me take pics of what were in my cart! She was kinda rude! :(

All of the produce sold at Planet Organic is 100% organic, and a lot of the grocery items are organic to some degree. If not, they still seem to fill a niche market, so if you’re looking for something hard to find you’ll likely find it here. Unfortunately, with a niche market comes high prices. Some of the products here are barely affordable. They do have pretty decent sales that rotate every few months, though, so shopping here is still a viable option.
Specific /​unique products I love from Planet Organic:
1. Local organic milk, especially Vital Green Farms! Homogenized milk tastes off to me so a non-​homogenized selection makes me very happy!
2. Bles-​Wold Yogurt… the vanilla flavor is amazing.
3. Very lemon-​y organic lemons. (They are way more potent than your average lemon!)
4. Cheese, in general. I quite love the cheese they sell here, they have a lot of brands that are not available in the regular supermarkets.
5. Frozen cherries.
6. Great bagels, though they’re not made every day.
7. «Pirate’s Booty» — junk food similar to Cheetos but better tasting and less bad for you.
One thing to keep in mind is that outside of the produce section, not everything is 100% organic. You still need to give the products as much scrutiny as those from mainstream supermarkets, so shopping here doesn’t really take that stress away.
My final verdict is that Planet Organic is awesome if you can do some of your shopping elsewhere. I split my grocery list between two or three different stores in order to get the most affordable experience while still buying organic. It’s definitely got some products that are well priced and delicious, and is worth working into your weekly grocery routine.