I shop at Nuts.com for snacks and pantry items in bulk — even though prices are higher than at Whole Foods, the convenience and breadth of products is undeniable
- Nuts.com sells more than 3,000 products including nuts, snacks, dried fruit, and pantry staples.
- It also stocks a variety of niche products that aren't available at a typical grocery store, like coconut flour, wheatgrass powder, and even vegan marshmallows.
- It also offers free shipping for orders of more than $59 and there's a 10% discount for new email subscribers.
Nuts.com is a third-generation, family-owned company that has been selling nuts (obviously), snacks, dried fruit, and other pantry staples for more than 90 years.
I placed my first order back in March and have placed three more since then, each time impressed with the vast offerings and quick shipping times. Other team members here have also used Nuts.com and had similar positive experiences too.
What is Nuts.com
Nuts.com sells more than 3,000 products including artisan, gluten-free, and organic items in a way that's similar to buying in bulk at your local grocery store. Most items come directly from the growers so you can easily buy 1 pound or 10 pounds. A majority of the items are Nuts.com branded, but it does sell products from other brands such as Once Again, Rawmio, and Elmhurst.
I'm constantly surprised at how many types of products are available, and that I'm able to do a big bulk of my grocery shopping here. I prefer to buy fresh produce and other groceries in person, so I head to my local market when needed and get meat delivery from my neighborhood butcher.
Nuts.com sells a ton: nuts & seeds, dried fruit, cooking, baking, chocolate & sweets, snacks, coffee & tea, superfood powders, and gift items like trays of sweets or dried fruit. If that's too overwhelming, you can also search for organic, gluten-free, raw, and even wholesale.
Aside from your basic pantry items, it sells some pretty niche products that may not be available at a typical grocery store such as coconut flour, banana flour, half-popped popcorn in a ton of flavors, wheatgrass powder, activated charcoal, and even vegan marshmallows. There's a wide assortment for anyone who has a specific diet or dietary restrictions.
Shipping
Orders of $59+ get free shipping, otherwise, shipping is $5.99.
My last order was placed on a Monday and the shipment arrived in excellent condition (as did all of my other past orders) on Wednesday. Orders placed before 4 PM EST ship the same business day and those placed on weekends and holidays ship on the first following business day. However, coffees and teas must be ordered before 8 AM EST to ship the same day, according to Nuts.com's website.
How prices compare
Since Nuts.com buys directly from growers, I was assuming items would be cheaper than buying from a regular grocery store, so I did a little comparison.
Nuts.com's unsalted roasted almonds retail for $9.99/lb compared to Whole Foods' in-house 365 brand at $7.99/lb and Woodstock at $7.99/7.5 oz (or around $16/lb). Nuts.com was not the most expensive, but not the cheapest either.
Its whole wheat flour is $9.65 for 5 lbs which is a lot more expensive compared to Bob's Red Mill, which sells it for $4.69 for 5 lbs, and King Arthur, which sells the same amount for $5.95.
When it comes to snacks, Nuts.com's mini pretzels are $4.99 for a one-pound bag versus Whole Foods' 365 brand, which sells them for $2.49 for a bag of the same size, and Snyders of Hanover, which sells for $3.29.
There is no membership program so you just pay for what you buy, no other fees attached.
Review of Nuts.com
The website is easy to navigate and I love how organized the categories are, making it easy for me to see all that it has to offer. Unfortunately, each time I ordered, there were some items I wanted that were out of stock such as organic sprouted wheat flour, yeast, and whole wheat blueberry bars.
Many items are higher in price on Nuts.com, but I'm (usually) able to buy a ton of what I need and from the convenience of my own home on my own time, so the price difference wasn't much of a concern for me. In fact, I usually buy things like roasted almonds, roasted cashews, organic walnuts, Medjool dates, mulberries, goji berries, freeze dried mango, energy squares, pink Himalayan sea salt, whole wheat flour and organic sprouted brown rice, some of which are hard to find in grocery stores, so the availability of hard-to-find items is an advantage.
Associate Guides Editor Jen Gushue also uses the site, here's their experience:
"I placed a huge order from Nuts.com right around the start of New York City's lockdown. In addition to the several varieties of nuts I ordered for baking and cooking, I also got pretty carried away with snacks — chocolate covered pretzels, dried pineapple, sev, and chana chor garam were particular stand-outs. My order arrived quickly even amid pandemic-related shipping delays.
Though costs are a bit high, I was more than willing to pay for the convenience of having these bulk items shipped directly to me, especially during a time when going out in public was a risk, let alone shopping from bulk bins.
Everything I've tried so far has been high-quality and has stayed fresh thanks to the resealable bags each item is shipped in. They're good zip-top bags too — none have failed me yet. I'm still working my way through my initial order, but I'll absolutely be placing another one soon.
Nuts.com has an incredible variety of nuts, grains, baking ingredients, and, more importantly in my eyes, unique snacks. As I was putting together my initial order, I had to deliberately limit myself because there was so much I wanted to try. On the bright side, it's easy to hit the $59 order minimum needed to get free shipping."
Discounts
There's a 10% discount for new email subscribers, but it doesn't appear that there are regular promos or discounts on seasonal items like Whole Foods.
The bottom line
I wish prices were a little cheaper, but being able to order so many items from one site and not having to try to find them at a grocery store made it worth the spend for me.
While many of what Nuts.com sells could be available from Amazon and other online markets, the variety of products is so impressive and I've been happy with everything I've tried, so I don't feel the need to go anywhere else.