Healthy Living Natural Food Retailer Hailed as Outstanding Vermont Business

Healthy Living, an independent natural foods retailer, was named as the 32nd recipient of the Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award by Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

The award honors sustained growth and “an acute awareness of what makes Vermont unique.”

“Like Davis himself — former [Vermont] governor, president of National Life of Vermont, and environmentalist — each finalist reflects Vermont’s diverse nature and, at the same time, radiates a savvy business sense,” John Boutin, publisher of VermontBiz and co-presenter of the award, said in his publication.

Healthy Living has long embodied the values honored in the award; when Katy Lesser opened the South Burlington store in 1986, she wanted to bring healthy, natural foods to the family table. In the three decades since, the brand has expanded to include locations in Williston and Saratoga, N.Y.

Lesser co-owns Healthy Living with her children, Eli and Nina Lesser-Goldsmith, who serve as CEO and COO, respectively. Together they have created 350 jobs, supported the economies of Vermont and New York, and worked tirelessly to fuel a passion for great food, health and well-being and establishing a sense of place where people gather to shop, eat, and work.

The company gives back to nonprofits quarterly and just this year became one of the first retailers to join the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership, encouraging shoppers to buy local and support participating producers.

Healthy Living’s dedicated, expert staff bring ready-to-eat meals, groceries and wellness items to shoppers each day — with everything sold held to the store’s strict ingredient standards.

“This award means so much to us, because it acknowledges our core values and celebrates them,” Lesser said. “Deane C. Davis became governor at age 68, which shows that you really can switch careers and make an impact. That’s what I did as a young mom in the 1980s, and I’m still learning every day.”

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