Finding the Best Health Food Store POS: 5 Top Providers

Is now the right time to open a health food store?

Yes! The global market for health and wellness foods is projected to grow by 7.9 percent by 2033. Now is a great time to open your store. However, efficiently managing your operations between perishable stock, specialty products, and health regulations is no easy feat.

To manage your store well, you need the right tools. And a point of sale (POS) system that brings together inventory tracking, custom menus, loyalty programs, and detailed reporting is one of those tools.

But not every health food store POS system is built the same. So, how can you choose which provider is best for your store?

This article highlights the features you need in a health food store POS system and explores the five best providers in the industry today. Let’s jump in.

Why the Right Health Food Store POS System Is Crucial

As we highlighted above, running a health food store is no walk in the park. Your operations need to be airtight to run smoothly and please your customers. As consumer preferences change, you need a point of sale system that can keep up.

A POS system designed specifically for natural food stores can help you easily streamline checkout and track inventory — these must go hand in hand.

With so many perishable items like fresh produce, dairy, meats, and refrigerated products, your POS system should track transactions and update your inventory in real time. You'll be able to closely track expiration dates, prevent waste, and ensure you have enough stock to meet demand.

You’ll also sell a variety of specialty diet products, supplements, and organic foods — so health food store POS software that stores unlimited products and makes finding those products easy is essential for a speedy checkout process.

Related Read: Streamline Your Grocery Store Checkout With These 6 Tips + Tools

With the complexity of running a thriving health food store, the right POS system isn't just nice to have — it's a necessity. But what features should you look for?

What Features Are Essential for Your Health Food Store POS?

While generic POS systems help manage various retail stores, your health food store needs specific features to help you thrive.

• Customizable Touch Menu: An intuitive touchscreen interface makes it easy for cashiers to quickly find products and ring up orders accurately. You want the ability to customize the on-screen layout, and touch menus tailored to your specialty products.
• Robust Inventory Management: From kale smoothies to quinoa, your inventory is varied and a mixture of perishable goods and specialty products. Look for a provider that offers seamless stock counting, real-time updates, integrated purchase orders, and shrinkage reports.
• Targeted Loyalty Programs: Many young and busy consumers like to feel a part of something, and a shift towards healthy eating offers the opportunity to turn customers into loyal patrons. Loyalty and rewards programs help you connect with health-conscious consumers. Your POS system should make it simple to create customized promotions, discounts, and incentives to drive customer visits and purchases.
• In-Depth POS Reporting: Understanding your sales data and customers is essential for making smart purchasing and business decisions. Your POS should provide detailed analytics and reporting on transaction trends, customer activity, profits, inventory turnover, and more.
• Integrated Vendor Management: In your health food store, you’ll work extensively with organic and local products, and managing your supply chain can be tricky. The best providers let you manage purchase orders, lead times, delivery schedules, product quality control, and other vendor processes within your POS.
• Built-In Compliance Features: Adhering to regulations in the health food industry can be challenging. Customers also want to see informative food labels. A POS system that offers product labeling, date tracking, and alerts can help your store meet all requirements.

These are some of the most essential features of a health food store POS system. Now, what about providers?

How To Choose the Right POS Provider for Your Health Food Store

Don’t just go by features. Choosing the right POS provider is key to getting the system tailored to your health food store's needs. Here are some questions to ask when choosing POS software:

• Can you scale? Your POS should be able to grow with you. Seek out scalable solutions.
• Does it integrate? A POS that integrates with your e-commerce store and other software is ideal.
• What is support like? Look for responsive customer service. 24/7 support is best.
• Are their reviews good? Feedback from other health food retailers using the POS system can be invaluable.
• Can you request a demo? The best way to assess the POS' interface and features is to see and try it yourself.
• What do your peers think? Those running similar stores may have recommendations based on firsthand experience.
  
  

You know the features you need and what to look for in a provider. Now, let’s look at five top options, so you can choose the best POS system for your store.

1. IT Retail

IT Retail has been helping all types of grocers win for 25 years. We offer a sustainable POS system tailored for organic and natural food stores that streamlines operations and enhances productivity. 

Our features include importing products from wholesalers, managing customer memberships, and printing shelf labels directly from the POS system for items like cage-free eggs and superfood smoothies.

We also facilitate the creation of special deals and discounts, ensuring efficient transactions in a high-volume environment. With a customizable touchscreen, offline mode capability, and compliance with PCI-DSS standards, our POS system is designed to help your health food store thrive.

Pricing: Get the exact system you need by using our build and price feature.

2. Markt POS

Markt POS offers a POS system specifically tailored for organic and natural food stores aiming to support and expand their business operations. 

In addition to seamless integration with wholesalers and easy shelf label printing, Markt POS software can create automatic and flexible discounts for various product groups.

For example, you can offer promotions like gifting reusable shopping bags for purchases over $50 or implementing departmental deals, such as 10 percent off produce on Tuesdays. Other helpful features include offline transactions and diverse payment options — allowing your store to serve your local community.

Pricing: You can custom-build your POS system here.

3. POS Nation

POS Nation provides specialized point of sale solutions for small grocery stores and markets, catering to over 500 businesses nationwide. Their grocery store POS software enables users to efficiently track inventory, accelerate checkout processes, manage vendors, and run in-store promotions with custom coupons. Other features include: 

• Mix and match pricing to drive sales
• Scale integration for weighed items
• Hotkeys with photos for quick navigation
• Coupon creation and acceptance

With over 55 prebuilt reports and customizable options, the POS system supports data analytics that are crucial for making informed business decisions. Additionally, it offers easy employee and payroll management, a limitless item database, and flexible pricing plans.

Pricing: Build your unique POS system and only pay for the features you need.

4. POS Highway

POS Highway uses NCR Counterpoint software to offer a comprehensive POS system tailored for health and vitamin shops.

The POS Highway system supports EMV payment solutions for secure transactions, integrated marketing, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools. They also offer e-commerce and accounting integrations, making it versatile for health food retailers operating as distributors, wholesalers, or retailers.

NCR Counterpoint software also provides multi-location management for centralized control over prices, products, inventory, tax rates, and reporting across all stores. There’s also an e-commerce integration, allowing for multichannel selling.

Pricing: Starting price is $149 per month per license.

5. Brilliant POS

Powered by Clover, Brilliant's Health Food POS offers a tailored solution for health food stores. 

A standout feature is that the system helps inform cashiers about your products. When you upload all your products into Brilliant POS’ system, your team can access that information with the swipe and tap of a finger — allowing employees to answer any customer questions.

Inventory management is simple yet powerful. It allows tracking at the item level, setting low stock alerts, and automating reorder instructions. Integrated scale and barcode technology accommodate diverse product pricing methods and payment options.

Pricing: Starting price for hardware only is $49 per month per station.

What Is the Best Health Food Store POS System? The Choice Is Yours!

Once you evaluate your budget and needs, the best health food store POS system will just feel right. It will tick all the boxes and provide the features you need.

At IT Retail, we pride ourselves on helping specialty grocers. Our system is purpose-built to address your unique needs. From customized menus and robust inventory management to targeted promotions and in-depth reporting, we provide what you need to succeed.

Find out how IT Retail can transform your health food store with a POS designed for your niche. You can achieve your health food store goals now and in the future with the right POS partner. Schedule a demo today!