Hass Hassan

Hass Hassan is a natural foods retail pioneer and co-founder of Alfalfa’s Market, one of Boulder’s most influential natural foods grocers. After launching Rainbow Grocery in Denver in the early 1970s, Hass moved to Boulder in 1978 to help create Pearl Street Market, which later became Alfalfa’s Market. He recognized Boulder as fertile ground for a new kind of grocery experience centered on natural, organic and vegetarian foods. 

Alfalfa’s became a proving ground for Colorado’s natural products movement, helping introduce consumers to better-for-you foods while giving emerging brands an essential retail platform. Hass’ work helped shape Boulder’s identity as a natural foods hub and contributed to the collaborative retail-and-founder ecosystem that eventually helped give rise to Naturally Boulder and the broader Naturally Colorado community.

“We knew Boulder was fertile ground for the kind of natural foods community we wanted to build. In those early days, people were doing this work out of love — it wasn’t career-oriented or driven by investors. These were founders and makers who had to go out and make something happen without a lot of support. That spirit of creativity, commitment, and community is what made Boulder such an important root of the natural foods movement.”