"Hometown Stores" by The Vitamin Shoppe spotlights local retail with sports nutrition brands partnerships

Gorilla Mind Hometown Store location at The Vitamin Shoppe on North Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles | Image courtesy of The Vitamin Shoppe

In a March 24, 2025 press release, nutritional product retailer The Vitamin Shoppe announced partnerships in a new “Hometown Stores” concept to showcase sports nutrition and supplement brands on a local level. The brands include Bucked Up, EHPlabs, Gorilla Mind, RAW Nutrition, and RYSE. Selected based on headquarter locations, the brands are given an enlarged, dedicated retail space within the Vitamin Shoppe, highlighting products, events, marketing opportunities, and more. The Hometown Stores are located across five states (California, Utah, Texas, New Jersey, and Florida), and more brands are anticipated to participate.

"These custom-designed, shop-in-shop experiences are a game-changer," stated Lee Wright, CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe, in the press release. "We're offering our brand partners a unique opportunity to create dynamic retail showcases right in their own backyards, where they can connect with their most dedicated customers like never before. By expanding their presence within The Vitamin Shoppe, our partners can truly bring their brand stories to life through exclusive product, events, and content—all while reinforcing our stores as the industry's premier specialty wellness destination."

Each brand receives 200 square foot of retail space with signage, fixtures, and merchandise, along with custom refrigerators for energy drinks, protein shakes, and hydration beverages.

"Partnering with The Vitamin Shoppe to open our Bucked Up Hometown Store in Sandy, Utah, was a natural fit—giving us a space where the community can fully experience our brand," added Ryan Gardner, CEO of Bucked Up. "This location showcases our full product lineup, exclusive drops, and immersive in-store activations, giving customers an all-access pass to the Bucked Up lifestyle. The response has been incredible, and we're excited to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation with The Vitamin Shoppe."

Additionally, though EHPlabs is headquartered in Australia, two locations in the US have been selected for the partnership based on community fanbase. The EHPlabs locations will be named Community Hubs.

"The EHPlabs community understands and values our true commitment and partnership to The Vitamin Shoppe, and it has become the go-to destination for EHPlabs exclusives and first-to-market product launches,” said Izhar Basha, CEO of EHPlabs. “As part of the natural evolution of our partnership with The Vitamin Shoppe to create a brand immersive hub for our community, we are proud to launch our first-ever EHPlabs Community Hubs with The Vitamin Shoppe in Houston and New Jersey. Our vision is to bring the EHPlabs brand to life within these stores, execute new product development and cool exclusives, and be able to engage with our community at a deeper level by creating a feedback loop for experimental flavors and products.”

The Vitamin Shoppe currently carries around 700 brands across 675 retail locations under The Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements.