Thrive Market Haul

Recently I learned of an online discount shop that specializes in healthy, non-perishable foods: Thrive Market. I signed up under a free trial to see how good their prices really are, and I found that they do have some great deals. Plus, you get free shipping on orders over $49. In this Thrive Market haul, I’d like to show you everything that I got, plus how the prices compare!

SNACK FOOD

The Kettle Chips aren’t the healthiest, but we buy them occasionally and they were a very good price. They were 17 cents cheaper than on Amazon, but if you bump up to the 8.5 ounce bags on Amazon, it’s a better price per ounce. But you have to buy a 12-pack.

These potato chips were pretty expensive, but they were fried in coconut oil! In fact, they’re only three ingredients: organic potatoes, organic coconut oil and sea salt. I felt good about giving them to Helen. She loved them. They were $5.53 cheaper than a stand-alone bag on Amazon.

These freeze dried berries are another favorite with Helen. I like to keep some in my purse for emergency situations. They were $1.24 cheaper each than on Amazon.

I love that these “cookies” are made with sprouted sesame seeds (read more about the importance of sprouting nuts HERE). Helen asks for these often when we’re out. These were only 3 cents cheaper than Amazon, but on Amazon you have to buy a 6-pack for that price.

These are my favorite seaweed snacks that I’ve find so far because they’re made with extra virgin olive oil instead of sunflower oil. I need to order some more. 45 cents cheaper per package than on Amazon.

You can actually get the GimMe seaweed snacks 57 cents cheaper on Amazon if you buy a pack of 12.

PANTRY STAPLES

While I don’t think this is a replacement for quality Homemade Chicken Stock, it’s nice to have some of this “Pacific Bone Stock” on hand for emergencies. Plus, there’s only three ingredients! It’s the best store-bought broth that’s widely available that I’ve found. However, I found that this particular item wasn’t the best deal on Thrive. I found it cheaper at my local health food store. But it’s still $1.78 cheaper than on Amazon (where you have to buy a 12-pack).

I’m somewhat of a salt hoarder. When I find a good deal on salt, I stock up. This was a great deal on Thrive, so of course it went into my shopping cart. $3.15 cheaper than Amazon.

I’ve heard that Vital Proteins is a really good quality “gelatin.” I got the collagen peptides because they dissolve in cold water. This was a whopping $14 cheaper than on Amazon!

I have yet to use these Bonito Flakes, but I plan on making fish stock. $1.38 cheaper than Amazon (where you have to buy a 6-pack)

As I’ve mentioned before, I really like Bionaturae tomato paste. It comes in glass bottles, and it’s easy to store leftovers in the fridge! Amazon savings: $1.68 (and you have to buy 12 bottles to get that price!)

I had never seen this Bar Harbor Fish Stock before, but the ingredients looked good (wild-caught haddock!), so I got some. I have yet to try it out. Amazon savings: 38 cents (and you have to buy a case of 12 on Amazon to get that price).

Also got a can of Native Forest Coconut Milk. It’s nice that the packaging is BPA-free. This was actually 36 cents more expensive than Amazon, but you have to buy a case of 12 to get the deal on Amazon.

CONDIMENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS

I am a huge fan of capers. They are delicious with shrimp scampi or on a roast chicken. This jar was $2.56 cheaper than on Amazon. Helen loves olives – she would probably polish off half a jar if I let her. $5.33 cheaper than on Amazon.

This mayo was from another brand that I had never seen before. I was excited to see that they used avocado oil instead of cheap “vegetable” oils. Plus they used organic cage-free eggs. We have tried it and it’s awesome. Though it is quite expensive. You can’t find it as a stand-alone item on Amazon.

For my Asian cravings: Pickled Sushi Ginger ($1.31 cheaper than on Amazon, where you have to buy a 12-pack) and Coconut Aminos ($6.29 cheaper than Amazon, where you have to buy a 3-pack).

I bought these Cod Liver Oil Capsules for my sister. I personally take the liquid form, but these are great if you can’t stand the taste of cod liver oil. They were $8 cheaper than on Amazon! NOTE: I no longer take this brand of cod liver oil because of a rancidity scandal a few years ago. I now take Rosita Cod Liver Oil.

Reuben likes to have canned herring in his lunches sometimes, and these looked like good ones (ingredients: herring fillets, cracked pepper, salt). 35 cents cheaper than on Amazon, and again, you have to buy a 12-pack on Amazon. These wild sardines were also 35 cents cheaper than on Amazon.

I’ve been wanting to try water kefir for a while, and this was a good excuse to get a good price on the grains. I’m still learning the process, but I have high hopes of making delicious water kefir! You can’t find this product on Amazon.

Lastly, I got a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Organic Citrus Orange Soap. Reuben uses this as his shampoo and body wash. It was $5.50 cheaper than Amazon.

TOTAL SAVINGS OVER AMAZON

While I was calculating this, to make it even, I didn’t subtract the price if I could find it cheaper on Amazon if you had to buy a pack of multiples to get that good price. Make sense?

Total Savings: $64.02

Even if I subtracted the difference of the items that were more expensive on thrive, the total savings would still be $62.52! Plus when you take into consideration that I calculated the prices on Amazon from packs of multiples, my savings are even greater. AND I received 20% off my first order, which saved me another $34.02. Pretty awesome.

Now, the one annoying thing about Thrive is that you have to pay a yearly member fee, which is $59.95. However, seeing how much I saved on one order, I think it’s worth the price. I personally won’t be subscribing this year once my free membership expires because we’re already Amazon Prime members. It’s something to think about for next year, though!

Also, make sure to look at the size of the package before you determine whether or not it’s a good deal. Thrive lists the sizes for their items, which is really handy.

If you would like a 2-month free trial of Thrive Market (and $10 off your first order!) you can sign up under my link HERE. If you choose to pay for a subscription, I’ll get a commission! Also, for every subscription, Thrive donates a subscription to an individual in need.

Whew. That was a long post. I hope you found this helpful!

Do you enjoy hunting for good deals online?

Note: some links are affiliate. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Buttered Side Up!

Lisa La Nasa

Saturday 19th of September 2015

Thanks for this great review! I've been following Thrive Market on FB for quite some time but have yet to take the leap. It is so good to see the exact items you ordered, along with the comparison to Amazon pricing. I find it really difficult to shop for pantry items on Amazon due to the multiple listings with size options and multiples. It gets confusing and I'd love to bypass Amazon altogether! I can't wait to try Thrive!

Lisa La Nasahttp://diaVerge.com Following The Alternative, Low-Carb Approach For Diabetes Management

Erica Lea

Tuesday 28th of April 2015

Yes, Trader Joe's has AMAZING prices! The closest one to us is 3.5 hours away. :(

I don't have a physical problem storing bulk items - my kitchen is pretty big and we have a storage room. But I have a problem mentally - for some reason it's really hard for me to spend a lot of money on bulk items, even though I know it will save money in the long run. I guess I have a fear that I'll hoard a bunch of food and then it will spoil and go to waste. :)

Maybe if/when we have more kids I'll have to get over that and buy in bulk. But right now I like buying just the amount that I want. :)

Elizabeth Rose Hisle

Good prices but I wonder how it compares to my local Trader Joe's. I definitely cannot afford a yearly subscription right now, but it might be nice to bookmark for the future, if their prices beat Trader Joe's. Of course, if you haven't got a TJs nearby, I can easily see how people would like Thrive! I do, however, have Amazon Prime through the hubby's student discount so maybe I should be buying more groceries there. Do you ever have issues storing bulk items? I don't live in a house so that's the biggest thing that keeps us from buying in bulk.

http://aroseisinbloom.blogspot.com

Monday 27th of April 2015

So glad it was helpful to you! I like to see the actual items that bloggers bought, not just stock photos from the company. So that's what I was going for. :)

Cait

It's helpful to see someone actually demonstrate what they ordered. I've heard a lot about Thrive from other blogs, but I wouldn't sign up without having an idea of what's worth it on there or what I'd actually buy. Thanks!