Erewhon, the upscale Los Angeles grocery chain, has become synonymous with wellness culture, making it a destination for locals and tourists alike.
Los Angeles is no stranger to trendy hotspots, but few places have managed to capture the city’s wellness-obsessed zeitgeist quite like the supermarket chain Erewhon. What started as a small health food store has grown into a cultural symbol of luxury and exclusivity, largely thanks to its upscale clientele, Instagram-worthy aesthetic, and those $20 viral celebrity smoothies.
Founded in 1966 by Michio and Aveline Kushi, Erewhon started as a small Boston-based health food store, inspired by the principles of the macrobiotic diet, which focuses on seasonal eating and natural, organic, and unprocessed foods. Named after Samuel Butler’s satirical novel Erewhon, the store’s ethos emphasized harmony with nature and a rejection of industrialized food systems. “Throughout the 1900s, the food industry abandoned its commitment to nutritional value,” reads the Erewhon website. “The pressure to feed a growing population led to the end of sustainable farming and a steep decline in food quality. This was the context that inspired the birth of Erewhon.”
The Kushis envisioned Erewhon as a sanctuary for health-conscious consumers seeking alternative and natural products during a time when processed foods dominated American diets. The store quickly became a haven for individuals interested in macrobiotics, vegetarianism, and sustainable food practices, gradually expanding its reach. At the time, this meant hippies and the counterculture movement that defined the late 1960s and 1970s.
The first Erewhon opened in Los Angeles in 1969 on Beverly Boulevard. Bill Tara and Bruce Macdonald took over the new location from Kushi. The store changed hands a few times after that, but for the most part, not much else changed over the decades. Erewhon remained a destination for clean and healthy food and maintained a cult-like status that’s only grown in recent years following its acquisition by Tony and Josephine Antoci in 2011. The couple have steered the brand toward its upscale, wellness-focused market status attracting Oscar winners and Olympians alongside musicians and influencers as it expanded to new locations. With private equity firm Stripes Group taking a minority stake in 2019, the chain now boasts ten stores across Los Angeles, from its newest location in Pasadena to the original on Beverly Boulevard.
The $20 Erewhon smoothie: a pricey blend of ingredients and status
When Erewhon finally became a bona fide celebrity in its own right is unclear; some point to the opening of its second location in 2014 — deep in Calabas, better known as Kardashian country — while others argue Kanye West’s 2018 tweet about “Erewhon drip” or the viral TikTok content surrounding Hailey Bieber’s $18 smoothies in 2022 is what cemented its place.
It is those Erewhon smoothies that have become a hallmark of its brand. Beyond Hailey Bieber, Bella Hadid, Sofia Richie, Olivia Rodrigo Kendall Jenner, and influencer Addison Rae have all collaborated with Erewhon on signature smoothies with exclusive ingredients. Sabrina Carpenter launched a $23 smoothie featuring crushed pearl extract last summer.
“It’s the quintessential L.A. experience once provided by fashion boutique Fred Segal,” L.A. artist Alex Israel told The Hollywood Reporter. Israel says every celebrity wants in on the signature smoothies. “It’s like a checkmark on Instagram now. It verifies the person as a mega-influencer, in a way.”
These celebrity smoothies often feature products exclusively sold at Erewhon, which the chain says justifies the cost through the use of “special” ingredients — products like $78 jars of Manuka honey, $30 organic coconut water, and $62 blue spirulina powder. Customers are on board, though, with the chain selling 12,000 Hailey Bieber smoothies a week.
But experts advise looking past the smoothie-as-status-symbol and to pay closer attention to the actual ingredients. “It’s important to remember that, regardless of celebrity backing, most supplements aren’t regulated, so it can be hard to know if you’re actually getting what’s advertised on the bottle,” Eating Well warns. It recommends checking for third-party certification to help ensure the product is safe and advises to always talk with your doctor before trying something new. It also says that while the Erewhon smoothies include nutritious ingredients, similar nourishing smoothies “can be made at home for a fraction of the price.”
High prices? That’s the point.
Erewhon isn’t just about smoothies, though. The store’s extensive range of perimeter products includes organic produce and protein, a robust deli case of prepared foods, offerings from local and independent brands, high-end wine, and an array of supplements and beauty products. These products all come at a premium; a small jar of coconut water can cost as much as $38, while $16 protein bars and $40 jars of hot sauce line its shelves.
“We are catering to the affluent,” Tony Antoci told The Hollywood Reporter. “But only because the raw ingredients cost so much more that unfortunately it puts certain demographics out of reach. But we shouldn’t be shamed for that.”
Israel says Erewhon’s significance in the culture reflects both a millennial and Gen Z shift in spending, “from material goods toward experience, and a shift in desire, from designer clothes toward designer bodies.”
And while it may seem absurd to spend $22 on a smoothie or $38 on coconut water, for many, it’s the price of being part of something bigger — a cultural moment where wellness and status intersect. The chain’s most dedicated customers aren’t just after quality products; they’re after the experience. “The first thing that people say about Erewhon is that it’s really expensive and full of celebrities,” says Josephine Antoci. “But it’s more than that. We didn’t build our business by being the most expensive or catering to celebrities. It grew very organically, which is nice.”
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