Company began in 1987 as Crystal Market in Boulder

Rocky Mountain News

Published February 22, 2007 at midnight

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Wild Oats, which operates 110 stores in 24 states and Canada, began life in 1987 as Crystal Market, the only vegetarian natural foods store in Boulder. In 1991, the company opened its first supermarket-sized store, in Santa Fe.

Crystal Market was renamed Wild Oats Vegetarian Market in 1992 and continued to acquire other small, natural foods outlets.

Inc. magazine named Wild Oats as one of the 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America in 1993 and 1994.

The company went public in 1996, trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol OATS. Wild Oats' growth peaked in 1999 when it added 47 stores in the calendar year.

The company currently operates its flagship Wild Oats Marketplace stores, as well as three regional markets: Henry's Farmers Market in Southern California, Sun Harvest in Texas and Capers Community Market in British Columbia.

It also operates the Ideal Market in Boulder.

The company has annual sales of about $1.2 billion.

Wild Oats, as part of its corporate philosophy, tries as much as possible to offer locally produced and manufactured products. It also has "5% Days," where the company donates 5 percent of a single day's pretax sales to a nonprofit organization.

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