About

Our History

Kimberton Whole Foods was founded in 1986 as the Seven Stars Farm Store on an organic dairy farm owned by the Kimberton Waldorf School. A store and small milk processing plant were built with funds obtained through a grant by the Glenmede Trust for the purpose of making the farm economically self sufficient. The decision was made to create a value added dairy product (yogurt) to be sold in the store along with other farm products. Terry and Patricia Brett were hired to open the store and to create and market a yogurt product. Consistent with the organic farming orientation of the farm a natural foods format was chosen as the direction of the store.

In January of 1988 the Waldorf School decided to lease the farm and store/processing plant to organic farmers David and Edie Griffiths. The Brett’s joined the Griffiths along the lines of a co-workers cooperative. Terry managed the store, created the yogurt recipes, and marketed the yogurt through natural foods distributors. Within 2 years all of the farm’s milk production was being sold as yogurt throughout the east coast and mid-west. Within 7 years the small farm store was grossing $1 million per year. Due to constraints on space (store/plant size of only1800 sq. ft.) and zoning restrictions, the decision was made to move the store into the village of Kimberton and to end the co-workers cooperative. In 1994 Patricia and Terry were joined by Arline and Rick Henry as equal partners in the founding of Kimberton Whole Foods (KWF)( an S-Corporation.)

The Brett’s purchased the shares of the Henry’s in 2003 and sold those shares a year later to an individual who participates in the store as a silent investor and strategic partner. In 2004, KWF opened a 2nd store in Downingtown, PA. In 2007 a 3rd store was opened in Douglassville followed by a 4th in 2008 in Upper Bucks County (Ottsville). A 6500 sq. ft. warehouse was leased and equipped in the fall of 2008 and became operational in Feb. of 2009. The warehouse functions as a virtual back-room for all of the stores and facilitates the volume purchasing, storage, and distribution of organic and natural foods. Kimberton Transport (KT) was incorporated in 2009 as the distribution vehicle. KT maintains 3 refrigerated trucks and KWF is exploring opportunities as a wholesale distributor.

KWF has grown to be a well respected business in eastern Pennsylvania, acknowledged by PASA (Pa. Association for Sustainable Agriculture) with their annual Business Leadership Award in 2008 for the KWF’s dedication to the support of sustainable agriculture. Terry is a board member of the Independent Natural Foods Retailer Assoc., an organization dedicated to creating a strong partnership with natural foods distributors nationwide and to continue being a strong advocate for the organic movement. KWF continues to seek opportunities for expansion.