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On a Sunday afternoon in Silverlake, Erewhon’s sunny outdoor patio is packed with groups of young, good-looking people. Inside, a woman carrying an oversized Alo Yoga tote claims her free monthly smoothie — a perk of Erewhon’s $200-a-year membership programme. Another customer, visiting from Berlin, says she’s been here every day since landing in LA.
“The fact that it’s healthy means you can justify the price,” she says, holding a pink smoothie and a basket stocked with Irish Sea Moss supplements and Erewhon-branded chocolate. Her friend, celebrating her birthday at the store with a pastel green smoothie, notes the abundance of natural light. “I feel calm here,” she says. “No one’s stressed. But that could also be because everyone’s rich.”
Erewhon is more than just a grocery store — it’s a status symbol. Known for its $20 Hailey Bieber smoothie, $26 bottles of “hyper-oxygenated” water and a single strawberry from Japan selling for $19, the company has cultivated a reputation as one of the most expensive supermarkets in the US. Yet, its appeal extends beyond the ultra-wealthy. Erewhon is as much a destination for Beverly Hills moms as it is for Echo Park aspiring actors, many of whom tap their cards with equal parts irony and indulgence. “Erewhon smoothies feel like the equivalent of buying Chanel sunglasses when you can’t afford main line,” the Berlin shopper says. Her friend, an Erewhon member, but not yet a homeowner, agrees. “It’s a $20 entry point into this luxury world that you perhaps aren’t really part of yet.” Thanks to its buzzy celebrity partnerships and viral products, it’s also become a must-stop for anyone visiting from outside LA.
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“Erewhon is at the intersection of two game-changing trends in the luxury market today: luxury as an experience, not a product, and the wellness and well-being trends,” says luxury retail expert Pamela Danziger.
Erewhon owners Tony and Josephine Antoci acquired the business, a former niche health food store, in 2011, transforming it into an aspirational retail experience. As the wellness industry boomed and food evolved into a status symbol — where Michelin stars, exclusive dining clubs and hyper-curated ingredients became markers of taste — Erewhon positioned itself as the lifestyle equivalent of a luxury fashion brand. Holding an overpriced smoothie or carrying one of its branded totes became less about groceries and more about alignment with a rarefied, health-conscious elite.
This identity was further solidified through collaborations that blurred the lines between food, fashion and lifestyle — partnering with Balenciaga on limited-edition apparel, releasing custom Ugg Tazz mules and working with Sushi Club, Nobu Matsuhisa’s exclusive membership club. The brand’s pop culture presence has only grown, with a cameo in the recent season of The White Lotus and thousands of TikTok videos documenting pilgrimages to experience its name-branded products firsthand.
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“We are seeing a shift where consumers are increasingly viewing their food and retail choices as extensions of their personal brand,” says Dr Daniel A Langer, CEO of luxury consultancy Équité and executive professor of luxury strategy at Pepperdine University. “Erewhon has capitalised on this by blurring the lines between food, fashion and lifestyle. Their collaborations with fashion brands and celebrities are a reflection of how modern consumers view luxury — as an all-encompassing lifestyle choice rather than isolated purchases.”
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Now firmly embedded in LA culture, Erewhon is expanding rapidly, operating 10 stores across California, with three more set to open in 2025 — its largest growth phase yet. “We see 2025 as the beginning of Erewhon 2.0 — a wave of expansion for us,” Tony told the Los Angeles Times in January. (Erewhon did not respond to requests for comment.)
The celebrity-backed smoothie economy
Erewhon has been selling premium organic smoothies for years and had previously collaborated with influencers such as Christina Najaar (who goes by Tinx on TikTok) and Marianna Hewitt, founder of the skincare brand Summer Fridays, on custom creations. But its 2022 Hailey Bieber collaboration proved to be a game-changer. After Bieber candidly posted a breakdown of her go-to Erewhon smoothie to her Instagram Stories, the store informed her of the surge of fans asking for the custom order. The model then convinced Erewhon that a namesake drink would be a hit, launched alongside her Rhode skincare brand. She was correct: the pink, coconut-cream swirled Strawberry Glaze Skin smoothie, a perfect blend of TikTok-fuelled food trends and influencer marketing, went viral.
Today, Erewhon reportedly sells 40,000 Hailey Bieber smoothies each month and has expanded its co-branded offerings to include further celebrity-designed drinks released monthly, from the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Emma Chamberlain and Nara Smith. Celebrities are not paid for their participation, but rather choose a charity to receive a portion of the proceeds. “In 2024, we had an incredible year, donating over $2.5 million through our celebrity smoothie collaborations,” Erewhon executive VP Vito Antoci shared on LinkedIn in January.
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Celebrities want to be associated with Erewhon and Erewhon wants to tap into their audiences. The results speak for themselves: when Blackpink’s Lisa’s Thai-inspired iced tea Thai Up The World was released in January, Erewhon’s TikTok announcement garnered 4.6 million views in four hours and over 20 million within a day.
The strategy highlights a broader opportunity for brands to turn everyday consumption into a cultural moment. There are already luxury grocers successfully replicating the formula, such as Happier Grocery in New York, created by those behind WSA, the New York skyrise blending food, fashion, art and culture. Brands in different spaces, too, can take cues from Erewhon’s playbook: it’s not just about selling a product, but about selling an experience, a status symbol and a lifestyle — one that consumers are eager to showcase as part of their identity. The real lesson isn’t just about smoothies, it’s about crafting desirability and community in a way that makes people want to buy in — and share it.
Brands whose products are included in a celebrity smoothie collaboration pay Erewhon for the promotion and sign a confidentiality agreement, which includes not speaking about the financials, according to those familiar with the matter. A source familiar with Erewhon’s business model says they were quoted $50,000 to have a single ingredient included in Kourtney Kardashian’s smoothie. Another says they were quoted $60,000 for a branded tonic.
Still, for many, the association is invaluable. Erewhon offers a direct pipeline to the wellness-conscious, high-spending consumer. It turns grocery shopping into an experience, and in doing so has redefined the idea of a luxury retailer. “Erewhon dictated our pricing so they could get their desired markup, and we decided we had to forgo our margins to stay competitive,” says a founder whose products were stocked at Erewhon for three years. “We essentially were losing money to be on Erewhon’s shelves — but the brand credibility made it worth it.”
Erewhon as a luxury brand
There are plenty of places one could pick up an expensive, novelty smoothie in LA. What sets Erewhon apart is that at none of the others — or any grocer in the city at all for that matter — would you opt to spend the better part of your Sunday sitting at. In a city known for its lack of walkable spaces, Erewhon has become one of LA’s few places that cultivates community. Its all-day cafés serve 100,000 customers per week and have become as much of a social hub as they are a shopping experience.
Many customers are part of Erewhon’s paid loyalty programme, which launched in July 2023 at the same time as the brand’s app. Plans are $100 or $200 per year and offer perks such as $1 back in points for every $10 purchased, a free new member drink per month, and priority access to clothing collection drops, promotions and events. “We had to get rid of our membership when I lost my job,” the birthday shopper tells me. “But I knew we’d be back, and now, thankfully, we are.”
But as Erewhon expands further into Southern California and beyond, the challenge will be maintaining the cultural cachet that made it a phenomenon, walking a tightrope of scaling up while preserving an air of rarity and desirability. “Erewhon needs to carefully balance growth with exclusivity, by treating each new location as a unique, curated experience rather than a cookie-cutter expansion,” says Langer. “Continuing to innovate with unique products and local collaborations will be key, as will leveraging technology to create personalised experiences that make each customer feel special, even as the brand grows.”
The lesson for brands looking to emulate Erewhon’s success is clear: exclusivity sells, but so does experience. “Erewhon’s success lies in its ability to create a culture around its brand, where the product is just one part of a larger, aspirational lifestyle proposition. By focusing on experience, quality and exclusivity, they elevated grocery shopping to an art form,” Langer says. “It’s a powerful reminder that in today’s luxury market, it’s not just about what you’re selling, but the story you’re telling and the lifestyle you’re offering.”
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