EMMAUS, Pa. — A sustainability-minded business that found its start in Emmaus soon will be on the move to meet their customers in the retail hub of The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.
FD Market, an eco-friendly refillery and houseware store at 348 Main St. on the Emmaus triangle, will close its original location at the end of April to move to the new location, while continuing to support its sales at various farmers markets, ecommerce and its second retail location in Easton.
- FD Market, the eco-friendly refillery and houseware store, will close its original Emmaus location at the end of the month to move to The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.
- Founder Jacquelyn Basset said that given limitations and rising rents in Emmaus and the majority of customers coming in from out of town, it was time to re-evaluate
- Basset said the new location will be a "game changer," with more details to come as the company continues its presence in Easton, at farmers markets and online
"You can only 'bloom where you’re planted' if there’s sunlight there," the company said in a Facebook post. "We’re choosing to shift our energy and resources where we feel we truly blossom."
Founder Jacquelyn Basset said that while there have been some loyal customers in Emmaus, a large majority of them have been from out of town. This move would make them more accessible to this base of customers at the more retail-focused shopping center.
Given the limited retail foot traffic in Emmaus, and rents being raised for their location, the business was in a position to re-evaluate, Basset said.
"If I'm going to pay that increase, I'd rather go somewhere where we have the increased foot traffic and visibility," Basset said.
The business is currently aiming for an early June opening as the employees continue to work on moving at the space between Carters/OshKosh and Lens Crafters.
Refilling the business
The primary part of the business is to act as a "refillery" — offering "everything from dish soap and cleaning products to shampoos and lotion" for customers to come and fill their own plastic bottles.
The business also offers various eco-friendly and zero-waste household products, with a goal of helping people reduce as much unnecessary waste as possible.
Last year, FD Market opened its Easton store.
In Easton, Basset said, the business has been welcomed with open arms and received more support — saying in a company Facebook post that there have been frustrations related to the Emmaus triangle location.
"It wasn't directed toward the residents, it was more in the bureaucracy of the town," Basset said. "They're not receptive to change."
Basset started FD Market 3 1/2 years ago in 2019, a year after she graduated from Emmaus High School.
She said she started with a small amount of inventory, with offerings slowly expanding until she was able to expand into the first location in Emmaus.
She said it started with self funding and made a large investment into the business from an insurance sum after her car was totaled early on in the formation.
New location to be a 'game changer'
Basset said FD Market can't yet announce to where it will relocate, but that details will be announced soon, with the company communicating to the public on its Facebook page.
She said that while it's bittersweet because of the time spent starting and building the store at the Emmaus location, the move is exciting.
"So it was really easy for us to scale up. There are a lot of people that have been looking for a store like this, and there really isn't anything else similar in the Lehigh Valley."FD Market founder Jacquelyn Basset
She said the Promenade Shops location will be a "game changer" for FD Market, and won't be any shifts in status for employees as a result of the move.
"We have our little group of people that like have loved what we're doing from the beginning and continue to show up and support us," Basset said.
"So it was really easy for us to scale up. There are a lot of people that have been looking for a store like this, and there really isn't anything else similar in the Lehigh Valley."
