Whole Foods Mission Statement

Whole Foods main product is organic, healthy food. Their target market is people who want to eat healthy, people who are active, vegetarians, and people with special diets. Their competition is another organic food store, Trader Joe’s. However, their main competition is regular grocery stores, like Kroger, who offer organic food at a lower cost. They are different from their competition because their products are pure, healthy, top-of-the line and environmentally friendly. Their products are fresh and have no artificial preservatives. They offer their own store brand name called, 365 which is less

The business level strategy that Whole Foods Market utilizes is differentiation strategy. Whole Foods is focused on selling natural and organic foods. The intention is that customers will value the high quality of the organic food and eventually pay a high price. Also, WFM nurtures customer loyalty by providing unique products. For example, Whole Foods features “foods that are free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.” (7) Also, Whole Foods has implemented animal welfare standards. The animals are not treated with antibiotics when preventing diseases and infections or when developing their growth. Additionally, to demonstrated customers that they care for the farm animals they developed a 5 Step Animal

All in all, Whole Foods Market Inc. is the most influential organic food retailer in the word. It built its motifs centered around its social responsibilities. The company’s green mission, Whole Foundations, and Whole Trade Guarantee showcase its commitment and reslince in supporting and bettering the world’s community busing food as the

Whole Foods was established in 1980 with one store in Austin, Texas. Today, Whole Foods is the world’s largest leader in natural and organic foods. There are over 310 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods is committed to the finest natural and organic foods available, sustainable agriculture and have one of the strictest of quality standards. Whole Foods offers customers a wide variety of products. “Natural” refers to food that is free of growth hormones or antibiotics, where “certificated

Whole Foods Market is one of the biggest organic and natural whole food suppliers in the world. They provide a wide variety of select foods that are without hormones or antibiotics and are stamped with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s stamp of approval. They value the fact that they can provide people with access to healthy food and be identified with being socially and environmentally responsible.

Whole Foods Market’s first retail location was in Austin, Texas. Today there are 342 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The growth of this health conscious conglomerate happened over the years by strategic acquisitions of profitable independent stores throughout United States. Mackey’s idealism and respect is exhibited in his openness about the contributions of these retailers to the success of WFM, as the website provides an in depth summary of each acquisition and its contribution to promoting healthier food choices (Whole Foods Market History, 2014). After four years in Austin, Texas WFM branched out into the city of Houston when it purchased the Whole Foods Company, and shortly after, on the west coast, a new store was built in Palo Alto, California. Subsequently WFM began aggressive acquisitions over the next few years, which help to accelerate the growth rate of WFM in other geographical locations. In 2002 WFM opened in Canada and in 2004 through the acquisition of United Kingdom’s grocery chain Fresh & Wild, it opened seven stores. Holistic eating is a worldwide affair that WFM is taking advantage

Whole Foods was founded back in 1980 in Austin, Texas and led the industry for 20 years by focusing efforts on selling quality fresh, local, and organic produce. At Whole Foods, they consider "quality the highest form of value, which means strict standards that take into account such things as artificial food preservatives, sustainable seafood, animal welfare, antibiotics in meat and pesticides in vegetables" (Wholefoodsmarket.com, Mission, and Values).

* Whole Foods Market was founded in 1980 working with natural and healthy foods in Austin, Texas; it’s one of the world’s largest of natural and organic foods supermarkets. In 2009, the sales total $8 billion and had 289 stores in the U.S. The Whole Foods Market plans to come up with strategies to help improve the company but to do so understanding the core values plays a major role in the company’s planning. The strategies

Whole Foods has become the world’s largest retail chain of natural and organic foods supermarkets. Not only is their focus to transform the way consumers look at food and its natural benefits, Whole Foods is looking to make a difference in the world with their products. Whole Foods appears to be in a rapidly growing market. Whole Foods has worked hard to set their products apart from other grocery retail chains and while their prices might still be considered high across the board, their products are geared towards a more health conscious individual who is willing to pay more for a healthier product.

Whole Foods is a supermarket that has successfully become the leader in the organic food segment of the grocery industry. While traditional markets have low brand loyalty and recognition, Whole Foods has focused almost entirely on its brand image, causing their strategy to be one of differentiation over cost leadership. Whole Foods is known as being far more expensive than other chains, due to this brand recognition. In their press release for the Q4 2014 results, they describe their vision and sum up what helps them develop that brand recognition. “We hold the idea of “food” to a higher standard, banning more than 75 ingredients commonly found in other stores, and we believe our unparalleled quality standards

Whole Foods continues to grow as the leader in organic and natural grocery supplier in the United States, Canada, and England. The company has continued to open new stores in new markets, as well as, opening two 365 by Whole Foods Market stores. Whole Foods became the industry leader by providing high quality natural and organic food products for consumers, which is a better and healthier product for consumers to consume. This is a big part of their competitive advantage. Other grocery stores are limited in their organic supplies, where as at Whole Foods, it is the primary focus. Another comparison is that with the help of Instacart, Whole foods is now the leader when it comes to delivery of fresh groceries then any other grocery in the industry. (Quarterly Results)

Whole Foods Market believes that the operation of a company should exceed beyond profits and focus on creating values and relationships within their communities. Whole Foods Market is “currently the 8th largest public food and drug retailer in the U.S., ranking #232 on the Fortune 500” (Whole Foods Market Annual Report, 2013). Food retailing has gained more competiveness over the years. Whole Foods Market, has been awarded, “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store.” Whole Foods Market’s “seek out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture” (Whole Foods Market Company Info, 2014). They believe that providing customers with natural and organic products, they are giving customers the most nutritious food and the best tasty food as well. “The quality of their foods is measured by nutrition, freshness, appearance, and taste” (Whole Foods Market Company Info, 2014).

Whole Foods Market Inc. is an American supermarket chain specializing in organic food that opened on Sept. 20, 1980, in Austin, Texas, its current headquarters. Whole Foods Market Inc. has 431 supermarkets among the United States, Canada, District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market has sales revenue of 15.39 billion, total assets of 5.74 billion, and a net income of 536 million in the annual report of September 2015. Whole Foods Market’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under ticker symbol “WFM”. Whole Foods Market’s primary products are organic and natural food products, including fresh and prepared meats, poultry and seafood, canned and frozen foods, fresh fruits and vegetables and various dairy products. Whole Foods Market Inc. is in the retail supermarket and grocery store industry, in which makes up the largest food retail channel in the United States. The Supermarkets and Grocery Stores industry faces a high amount of internal and external competition, particularly from large retailers like massive warehouse stores and supercenters. The barriers to entry in this industry are the medium range, but are increasing.

Whole Foods Market has expanded by a mixture of opening its own new stores and acquiring already existing stores. Today WFM does not follow this strategy, instead their motivation is to open its own large stores. This is due to noticeable sales differences in larger stores as opposed to smaller stores. WFM locates these newer stores in upscale areas of urban metropolitan centers and high-traffic shopping locations. Not all WFMs are isolated structures; some are located in strip malls. WFM offers a larger selection of natural and organic foods than any other grocery store. WFMs marketing expenditure is extremely small. They spend a measly 0.5% of their revenues on advertising. Their chief marketing strategy relies on word-of-mouth. WFM strives to meet or exceed customer expectations. This is so customers receive competent, knowledgeable, and friendly service and become advocates of WFM. The employees here have a decentralized team approach for store operations. This is so some personnel, merchandising, and operating

Whole Foods Market began in 1970 as a local supermarket. Over the past 31 years, Whole Foods Market has grown from a single store in Austin, Texas, to becoming one of the worldwide leaders in providing consumers with natural and organic foods. They have grown to over 300 stores in both North America and the United Kingdom. (Whole Foods Market, Inc., 2011) This report examines the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market has put into place. Also, it uses past financial data to provide an assessment of the condition of the company going forward. Those assessments include recommendations of future actions, along with concerns I have about the way the company is currently operating and some difficulties that may be on the way.