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When people think about New Seasons Market, Wendy Collie hopes they see more than just a grocery store.

“We want people to think of us as the grocery store with a soul,” said Collie, who serves as the CEO of New Seasons. “It starts with people and ends with people. Neighborhood stores aren’t just a place to buy groceries. It incorporates the farmers we get our produce from, the businesses around us and the diversity of the community.”

Since opening its first location in 2000, the company has grown to 12 stores in Oregon and one in Vancouver, Wash. There are plans in place to continue to expand, at a rate of one or two new stores per year. Several of those stores will be in the Portland-metro area.

The decision on where to place new stores isn’t made lightly. Long before the first shovel of dirt is overturned, New Seasons staff spends time in a prospective area asking questions, attending meetings and examining data to make sure each store will be the right fit.

Don Forrest, director of development, examines more than standard demographics.

“If they’re heavy cycling communities, we have more bike racks,” Forrest said. “We look at multimodal access. Where are the closest transit stops? What, besides groceries and deli, are people coming to this area for? We want to find locations where our stores are a fit for the lifestyles in that community.”

While the locations where research is done may change, one thing always stays constant – the company’s “triple bottom line” of people, planet and profit. New Seasons builds environmentally conscious buildings, employs sustainable business practices, and gives 10 percent of profits back to community-based nonprofits.

“We have profit sharing that’s based on tenure, not rank,” Collie said. “We encourage a working environment where the employees are passionate. Having them enjoy what they do translates to how people feel when they shop in the stores.”

New Seasons Market placed ninth out of 100 in Oregon Business Magazine’s 2011 Best Green Companies to work for in Oregon and was named among the top 100 companies to work for Oregon.