Locally Made: Elevate Your Brand With Naturally Chicago

Welcome to Naturally Chicago’s Locally Made initiative—where local brands and retailers come together to grow sales, create jobs and build a thriving natural products community.

Our mission is to create connections that help natural product entrepreneurs succeed. Locally Made helps connect brands with local retailers, raising awareness for the brands, supporting retailers’ need for quality local products.

About Locally Made

Locally Made is a partnership between Naturally Chicago and leading retailers. To join, your company must be or become a Naturally Chicago Brand Partner and either be headquartered or have products grown, produced or manufactured within 150 miles of Chicago.

Why Join?

Benefits For Retailers

  • Ready-to-launch local products program

  • Meet consumer demand for local

  • Support local brands and communities

  • Increase awareness of natural & organic products

  • Enhance profitability through premium brands

  • Publicity through our regional and national networks

Benefits For Brands

  • Introductions to top retailers

  • Increased shelf visibility and POS support

  • Access to distributors (KeHE, Fortune Fish & Gourmet, Compass, Crafty and more)

  • Publicity through Naturally Chicago’s email and social media channels

  • Meet growing demand for local products

How It Works

· Plug-and-Play for Retailers: Locally Made connects you with vetted, high-quality local brands and provides turnkey promotions — such as shelf talkers and end caps — to spotlight local products.

· Visibility for Brands: Gain on-shelf promotion, retailer introductions and access to exclusive category manager introductions.

· Leading Retailers On-Board: Partners include Fresh Thyme Market, Mariano’s, Fruitful Yield and Whole Foods Market. We also facilitate introductions with Fresh Picks, Costco, Compass Group, Crafty, Foxtrot and Goddess & Grocer.

Brand Partnership Unlocks More

We invite every natural products company with roots in the Chicago region to become Naturally Chicago Brand Partners. Naturally Chicago is a vibrant community dedicated to supporting and elevating local natural brands. If your company is headquartered or produces within 150 miles of Chicago, you’re eligible to join us.

As a Brand Partner, you’ll unlock exclusive opportunities, including:

· Participate in retailers’ new product searches and promotional campaigns

· Networking events and community connections: Learn from other entrepreneurs and build lasting relationships within Chicago’s thriving natural products community

· Access to our annual Pitch Slam, Chicago Seed Co. investor network and Locally Made: We provide many opportunities to showcase your brand and connect with new customers and investors.

· Mentorship from industry leaders: Gain insights and guidance tailored to your business

· Educational workshops: Learn, share, and grow with fellow entrepreneurs.

Join us in a passionate network that’s shaping the future of natural products in Chicago and beyond!

Founding Partners

KeHE Distributors, Locally Made’s leading partner, is the largest distributor of natural & organic, specialty, and fresh products to more than 30,000 retailers throughout North America. With over 6,800 employee-owners, KeHE, a Certified B Corporation based in Naperville, Illinois, drives its mission of serving to make lives better, throughout all aspects of its operation.

Retail and Distribution Partners

Scholarships

Naturally Chicago is a vibrant community dedicated to supporting and elevating local natural brands. To help ensure all brands have access to our network, we proudly offer scholarships to brands that have limited funding.

How Our Scholarships Work:

· Scholarships are awarded on a case-by-case basis

· If your brand receives a scholarship, we send a separate sign- in link

· Scholarships are granted for one year and may be renewed with a new application

We encourage you to apply if you are passionate about growing your brand but face financial constraints. We want to make it easy for you to join our supportive community and access all the opportunities Naturally Chicago has to offer.

Apply today and take the next step for your brand!