For the last 6 years, our family has been ordering the majority of our bulk foods (and the majority of our groceries) through Azure Standard coop each month. Each month I get many comments and emails asking about ordering with Azure so I thought I’d try and condense everything you need to know into one post so in case you too were wondering about ordering from Azure Standard, this guide will help you get started!
What Is Azure Standard?
Azure Standard is a bulk buying coop. The awesome thing about them is that you don’t necessarily have to buy the products they sell in bulk, making is easy for anyone to order. You can order from Azure through UPS delivery (but only dry goods) or by the standard method of semi-truck deliveries. (Monthly or in some areas, bi-monthly)
How Do I Get Connected and Set Up?
To first find out if Azure is in your area you will need to call or check the schedule of deliveries on their website. It’s best to just give them a call because you will need to get signed up with them (it’s free!) and find out the phone number of your drop site manager. Each truck drop site has a manager that will contact you each month and let you know what time the delivery will be. If there is not a delivery drop in your area and if you are already on a route, you can also talk to Azure about starting your own drop site in your town as long as you and some friends can meet the minimum drop amount.
How Do I Order?
The easiest way to order is to simply order on the Azure Standard website. You can add items to your cart, see prices and descriptions and quantity on hand. Once you order, Azure will send you email confirmation so you know your order was placed. You will need a drop site number (that you get from your drop manager) before you can order to ensure it goes to the right drop. When you order, keep in mind that you may have to pay a shipping fee (ours is 8.5% of total). When you order make sure you check out the sales and the bargain bin that are available to see online (you can also order a free sales flyer with your order, sales are once every 2 months).
What Do I Order?
Azure sells everything from fresh produce to baby diapers and everything in between! We order the majority of our monthly groceries from them each month. The best way to decide what to order is to work on making your grocery list through the month so you don’t forget anything and make sure to create a meal plan for the upcoming month so you know what you will need.
My Favorites!
I have so many items that I love to order each month from Azure Standard. Here are a few to give you some ideas of what to order!
- Bulk Cream Cheese
- Bulk Dried Onion and Garlic
- Turbinado Sugar
- Any Fresh Produce! (but especially apples and onions)
- Frozen Fruits and Vegetables (we like the Stahlbrush brand)
- Country Save Detergent
- BioKleen Concentrated Cleaners
- Brown Rice Pasta
- Whole Milk Yogurt
- Gluten Free Oats
Other Tips and Tricks
- Make sure to plan plenty of time to pick up your order. The truck my not be right on time and it takes longer to put away a large load of bulk foods than you think!
- Not everything from your order may come in depending on stock on hand. The best way to find out if something is available before you order is to call and make sure. There is still no guarantee that it will be available when the truck is loaded though. This is why I try and keep a little extra of everything on hand when I can.
- If you are interested in buying produce, make sure to check right before you order is due. Produce can be added or removed from the website daily.
- There is one sale flyer every month. Stock up on your favorites during that time!
- There is no minimum order for a semi-truck delivery (besides the total drop order minimum) but if you purchase under $50 you will be charged a fee.
—Learn more about Buying in Bulk from a Co-op here.
Have you ever ordered from Azure? What are your favorite things to buy?
Vickie Laird says
July 1, 2014 at 9:28 amHave u ever ordered from Azure the ingredients to make your own chicken feed? I am interested in doing this but don’t know if it would be to costly.
Merissa says
July 1, 2014 at 9:39 amI haven’t yet but my mom has. They have some good deals if you want to make sure you get organic, otherwise it’s a better deal to buy in bulk from your local grain elevator if you have the option.
Paulina says
July 1, 2014 at 12:55 pmHi Marissa,
When you buy produce, how do you keep it fresh so it last longer?
I have so many problems with keeping stuff fresh.
Thank you,
Paulina
Merissa says
July 1, 2014 at 12:59 pmHere are some tips on Making Produce Last Longer. When I buy in bulk from Azure (fresh produce) it’s usually to can or freeze unless it’s a product like onions, potatoes, or apples, which will last a long time simply in cold storage or in the fridge. We also try to follow a plan on eating what goes bad quickly first so for example if I buy grapes, apples, carrots, and celery for the month, I will plan my meals around eating the grapes and celery first because they have the shortest shelf life.
Paulina says
July 1, 2014 at 1:05 pmThank you so much for the tips. 🙂
Stephanie says
July 5, 2014 at 11:02 amIf you wrap your celery in aluminum foil and store it in the crisper drawer of the fridge, it will last through the end of the month.
heather says
July 1, 2014 at 12:57 pmThank you for the great tip! I am going to check them out. They may not be in our area but its worth the look 🙂
Thanks again
Merissa says
July 1, 2014 at 1:00 pmIf they aren’t in your area they may very soon be so it’s worth it to keep checking every few months. They seem to be expanding quite quickly right now.
Paulina says
July 1, 2014 at 1:24 pmMarissa,
Have you done any food fermenting???
If so, do you have any advise?
Thank you,
Paulina
Merissa says
July 1, 2014 at 2:05 pmMy mom has done extensive food fermenting and culturing, I haven’t started on it yet. If there is enough interest we might be able to get her to do some blog posts on it 🙂
Paulina says
July 1, 2014 at 2:14 pmThat would be great!!!
Thank you 🙂
Barbara Hooper says
July 4, 2014 at 5:57 pmI am interested in food fermenting too.
Michelle says
July 10, 2014 at 12:35 pmI would be interested in posts on fermenting as well!
Thanks!
Jen says
August 25, 2016 at 1:35 pmI would be interested in basic fermented foods like sourdough and sour kraut, esp. Maybe others, too.
Amy Ennis says
July 1, 2014 at 9:39 pmI’ve looked into this before but is it really that much cheaper?? How much do you think you save? Have you ever figured it up before?
Merissa says
July 1, 2014 at 9:43 pmIt depends on where you live but for us it’s absolutely cheaper. At the grocery store here I would pay $2.49 for one organic onion. With Azure I pay $3.50 for a 3lb bag. Even cheaper if they have the 40lb bag. Just about everything we buy that I’ve seen at the store is usually several dollars cheaper from Azure.
Shirley says
July 4, 2014 at 12:57 pmHi Merissa, I don’t comment too much, but I’ve been devouring your site for several weeks now and love the way you break down homesteading life. You’ve already helped me a lot, and I really appreciate this post because I’ve heard of Azure Standard, but haven’t checked into yet. I’m excited to show this post to my husband later and maybe we’ll look into it some more!
One question, (and I hope it doesn’t sound stupid. lol)
“Turbinado Sugar” is this a brand or a special type of sugar? Lately I’ve been wondering if I should be more picky with the type of sugar I buy, since I mostly buy whatever is on sale at a traditional grocery store…
Thanks again for the great post and for this blog in general. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites!
Merissa says
July 4, 2014 at 6:07 pmTurbinado is just sugar in it’s raw form. We cut out regular processed sugars about 4 years ago and noticed a huge difference (by just switching from processed to non, not cutting it out entirely).
Shirley says
July 4, 2014 at 7:38 pmOh, okay, thanks for the answer. My husband and I are browsing Azure right now!
Sandy says
July 4, 2014 at 3:20 pmI have ordered from Azure for several years now. In fact I was ordering from them before they had a route through here via UPS shipped. I love getting the organic produce such as apples, oranges, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Many times I can purchase organic from as cheap or cheaper than regular in the grocery stores. I get laundry supplies, cleaning supplies, rice, beans, and some snack foods. It would be very difficult for me to use as much organic as I do without Azure.
Conni says
July 4, 2014 at 6:15 pmI LOVE ordering from Azure! We buy 50# bags of whole grains, oats, beans; 30# boxes of organic raisins, 50# bags of organic powdered milk, bulk baking supplies ( spices, sucanat, cocoa, unsweetened coconut, parchment paper), frozen bulk organic vegetables (we are still eating down a 30 # bag of frozen broccoli flowerettes!), gallon jugs of apple cider vinegar and molasses. Our drop-point manager asks for a $5 fee. I allot $100/mo now for our Azure order since my pantry is at at a ‘working’ level. Living in coastal California, we have a good choice of health-concious grocery stores and farmers’ markets, but we have always
tried to belong to a coop for bulk buying. The convenience is great.
Kathy says
July 5, 2014 at 8:01 amWould love to have easy fermenting ideas that taste good
Andrea says
July 5, 2014 at 11:11 amFor those of you who live in more urban areas, what do you think of Azure’s prices? I live in Denver and have easy access to Costco, farmers markets, and a variety of grocery stores. I am very interested in trying out Azure because I like the concept, but have yet to find a single product that is cheaper than what I usually pay in my local stores for the same or similar products. I tend to watch for sales and rarely pay full price for anything, but still…what am I missing? What are you guys buying from Azure that’s so cheap?
Jen says
August 25, 2016 at 1:42 pmGrocery prices are very dependent on location and shipping routes. It is possible that you are on a shipping route that makes your grocery stores cheaper than the average around the country. We have a Costco nearby as well, but I am careful because not everything is cheaper and some things come in too big packages for me to use in a reasonable time. If you can get the same organic stuff at costco for cheaper than of course you would stick with the local store. It’s just that in many parts of the country groceries are much more expensive, or people live too far from large grocery outlets.
carin says
July 6, 2014 at 9:11 amHi
In regards to the question about Azure in Denver. I live in Cheyenne WY. We also have acces to farmers markets/Costco. Azure has great prices on gluten free items. Watch for the sales with Azure. I use a variety of products from produce to laundary deteregent. If you factor in your time shopping plus impulse shopping in a grocery store. Azure works better for me anyway. Hope this helps
Sharon says
July 6, 2014 at 1:58 pmI get my organic chicken food (Scratch and Peck brand) from them. It is wonderful. Also bulk rice, split peas, sugar, etc. for food storage.
Great company and very helpful over the phone if you need to call.