our history
Save-On-Foods is part of the Overwaitea Food Group, a Western Canadian company that got its start in 1915 in New Westminster, British Columbia.
The company’s founder became famous for innovative merchandising practices like selling 18 ounces of tea for the price of 16. Customers soon began to call his grocery the “over-weight-tea” store and so began a 95-year long tradition of providing more value to customers.
In 1982, the Overwaitea Food Group opened its first 6 Save-On-Foods stores in BC’s Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. This marked a couple of firsts for grocery retailers in Western Canada, including: the very first natural foods departments, the introduction of exclusive meat programs, wholesale sections, in-store cosmetic departments, in-store banking facilities and the addition of full-service bookstores – all under one roof.
By 1985, the stores also included pharmacies and, a year later, the Overwaitea Food Group became the first western retailer to keep its doors open until midnight, 7 days a week.
Roots took hold in Alberta when the first Save-On-Foods store opened in Edmonton in 1990. Shortly after, as a way to give back to customers, the company’s loyalty card program was launched in 1992 – a program that’s since evolved to become one of the most popular in Western Canada – the More Rewards program.
Nearly a century after its humble beginnings as a single grocery store in New Westminster, Save-On-Foods is proud to keep business close to home - bringing communities across BC and Alberta the broad line-up of products, world-class customer service and value that Save-On-Foods has become famous for.
Save-On-Foods is a proud member of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.
