The Golden Shelfie Awards: Our Best Healthy Products, Chosen by You

The triumphs, the snubs, the outfits…it must be awards season. This year, we’re putting our own spin on the entertainment industry’s big moment and rolling out the red carpet for our members’ most beloved products. It’s the first-ever Thrive Market Golden Shelfie Awards!

We asked our Instagram community about the top Thrive Market products in six categories: the Ultimate Pantry Staple, the Best Supporting Sauce, the Sweet of the Year, the Self-Care Superhero, Best Dressed (i.e. most counter-worthy packaging), and the Fan Favorite. The nominees in all but the last category were selected based on their top-seller status, while the Fan Favorite was entirely chosen by you.

Read on to meet the winners in each category—then go ahead and add them to your next box.

Ultimate Pantry Staple

Looking to stock a healthier kitchen? Start right here.

WINNER: Thrive Market Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

One taste of this Grecian gold and you’ll never settle for any old olive oil again. Our exclusive Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil is made from fresh-pressed Koroneiki olives that are organically grown on a multigenerational family farm on the island of Crete. From harvest to pressing to bottling, the makers have perfected their method to achieve peak freshness and purity. The first time this olive oil is exposed to air is when you open a bottle in your kitchen. Using it to whisk it into salad dressings, drench a hunk of bread, and finish savory dishes will let its fresh, grassy flavor really sing.

RUNNER-UP: Organic Valley Farms Organic Ghee

Grab a jar of Organic Valley Farms Organic Ghee for all your high-heat cooking needs. With roots in ancient Indian culture and specifically Ayurvedic healing, ghee is produced by simmering butter (in this case, organic butter free of added hormones, antibiotics, and toxic pesticides) to remove the milk solids, making it an appropriate ingredient for anyone looking to avoid dairy. Robin from Dearborn, MI says this ghee “makes [her] life a better place,” and speaking of making lives better, Organic Valley Farms ensures its cows lead longer, healthier lives than their factory-farmed counterparts by limiting herd size and grazing them on grass. While this ghee is ideal for sautéing, you can use it anywhere you’d use butter. Try spreading it on toast, baking it into your next cake, or using it to make soft-scrambled eggs.

Best Supporting Sauce

Whether dressed, spread, or drizzled, these scene-stealing sauces can elevate even the simplest dishes to craveable status.

WINNER: Primal Kitchen Avocado Mayo

What happens when you take a traditional condiment like mayonnaise and add a trendy health food ingredient (in this case, avocado oil)? You get a winner. The first of its kind, Primal Kitchen’s keto, paleo, and Whole30®-friendly Avocado Oil Mayo is made with avocado oil instead of the typical soy or canola, along with other wholesome ingredients like cage-free organic eggs. Its spot-on mayonnaise texture and flavor, which lends itself to sandwiches, salads, and dips, has earned it cult status among Thrive Market members. In fact, according to some of the 3,000+ reviews for this product on our site, multiple ride-or-die Hellmann’s fans have happily made the switch to Primal Kitchen’s version. Sounds like we’ve got a new classic.

RUNNER-UP: Whole30® House Ranch

If you think “healthy ranch dressing” is an oxymoron, then you haven’t experienced Whole30®’s House Ranch. This standout of our collaboration with Whole30® founder Melissa Urban offers all the cool, classic flavor of ranch dressing, but boasts an ingredient list that includes Certified Humane eggs, a medley of herbs, and no dairy, sugar, or vegetable gums. Thrive Market members go nuts for its thick, creamy texture. Take it from Shawna of Ft. Worth, TX, who says this ranch is “the whole reason I have a Thrive Market account.”

Sweet of the Year

These are the better-for-you treats you reach for whenever a sweet craving strikes.

WINNER: UnReal Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars

We’ll let Debbie from Evanston, IL, say it for us: UnReal Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars are “Mounds, but better.” These member-loved mini bars are made from just three simple, wholesome ingredients—organic coconut, organic cassava syrup, and dark chocolate—making them a vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free way to satisfy your hankering for sweets. With familiar combos like chocolate and peanut butter and caramel, peanut, and nougat, UnReal’s got something for every candy fiend in its lineup. While the brand may have taken inspiration from classic confections, they totally transformed the typical candy bar ingredient list, skipping corn syrup, hydrogenated fats, artificial colors and flavors, and preservatives to create an organic, low-sugar treat.

RUNNER-UP: Smart Sweets Sweet Fish

Somehow, Smart Sweets was able to capture all the nostalgic joy of classic gummy candies with 92% (!) less sugar. We might not know exactly how they achieved this magical feat, but we do know they didn’t use any artificial sweeteners, colors, or sugar alcohols in the process. At only three grams of sugar and 18 net carbs (thanks to vegetable-based fiber) per bag, berry-flavored Smart Sweets Sweet Fish are their most popular product, and a hit among keto dieters and kids alike. We have to agree with this enthusiastic review from member Teissa of Fernley, NV: “THESE ARE THE BEST. JUST GET THEM.”

Self-Care Superhero

Trust these tried-and-true basics to build your effective natural skincare routine.

WINNER: Dr Bronner’s Organic Hand Sanitizer

Is there a more of-the-moment product than hand sanitizer? This little spray bottle was particularly clutch during the last year, when quickly erasing germs while on the go was priority number one. The gentle yet effective Dr. Bronner’s Organic Hand Sanitizer formula is free of harsh chemicals; instead, it uses organic ethyl alcohol to knock out nasties and glycerin to nourish skin. The calming scents, derived from organic essential oils, offer a dose of zen-like calm—something we’ve all needed a little more of lately. This is one COVID-era habit we’re keeping.

RUNNER-UP: Thayers Witch Hazel Toner

The apothecary-style bottle isn’t a marketing gimmick—Thayers has been around since 1847, when founder Dr. Henry Thayer first started brewing his organic herbal concoctions. The brand’s Witch Hazel Toner has earned its clean skincare staple status through simple, multi-tasking ingredients. Undistilled, antioxidant-rich witch hazel helps keep pores clear and aloe vera hydrates. The alcohol-free formula means no tight, stripped feeling, and makes this product suitable for sensitive skin.

Best Dressed

Your pantry will be ready for its closeup with these stylishly packaged essentials.

WINNER: Thrive Market Organic Raw Creamy Highland Honey

You may have heard that we’re kind of obsessed with sourcing around here—where our products come from, how they’re made, and by whom. So it’s only appropriate that the label on this jar of Organic Raw Creamy Highland Honey features a stylish geometric pattern that harkens back to the hive. Member Rachel from Astoria, NY is equally a fan of the honey and the jar it comes in, saying that it’ll be “wonderful to reuse after I empty it (the wide mouth fits a spoon in so nicely).” This spreadable variety comes from the highlands of Mexico and offers tropical flavor notes.

RUNNER-UP: Thrive Market Organic Tigernut Flour

It’s been a long time since there was any innovation in the packaging world for baking ingredients. Think about it: flour pretty much always comes in a nondescript paper sack (that somehow manages to leak flour all over your kitchen, even when sealed…ever notice that?). Not so with our Organic Tigernut Flour, which is housed in a resealable bag and adorned with a modern pattern in a mix of cool blues. Of course, it’s what’s inside that really counts, and members love this gluten- and grain-free flour for its subtly nutty flavor and compatibility with the AIP diet.

The Fan Favorite

We asked, you answered: out of hundreds of healthy Thrive Market products, these are the ones you love most.

WINNER: Hu Salty Dark Chocolate Bar

How do you make sweets taste sweeter? Hu knows: just add salt. The paleo-friendly brand won over your hearts and taste buds with their Salty Dark Chocolate Bar, made with 70% cacao and no refined sugar, palm oil, cane sugar, sugar alcohols, dairy, emulsifiers, or soy lecithin. With its simple ingredients and minimal sugar, this bar is something of a dream come true. Morgan from Nashville, TN says she “can’t believe [it’s] vegan…mind blown.”

RUNNER-UP: CHOMPS Grass-Fed Beef Sticks

Some people keep hot sauce in their bag…Thrive Market members travel with CHOMPS Grass-Fed Beef Sticks. “I throw them in my purse when out of the house for either my toddler or myself to eat,” reports Samantha from Oldsmar, FL. CHOMPS took a convenience store classic—the meat jerky stick—and turned it into a wholesome bite using grass-fed and -finished beef and zero sugar. With nine grams of protein per individually wrapped stick, these are an easy way to take your protein to go.