Whole Foods: In Boulder and Beyond

The Whole Foods store in Boulder on the corner of 28th and Pearl, already 38,000 sq. ft. (3500 m²), plans to expand 72,000 sq. ft. (6600 m²) bigger, taking over the existing space of the current Barnes and Noble neighboring the store. Buildings around the existing parking lot will be removed to make more space for people to park. The already large whole foods market will soon be enormous.

Picture: Wholefoods

“Customer service is the number one priority at Whole Foods,” says Sandra Gordon, the Store Marketing assistant with whole foods for the past 7 years, when asked what the strategy is in attracting people to the store“. There is a color arrangement which is also key in providing a beautiful atmosphere” she adds. “We are the number one Whole Foods in the country in terms of sheer volume of goods,” she proclaims. “That is, minus the sales of Alcoholic beverages which are not sold at Boulder Whole Foods”. She said that alcohol included they are number four, falling just behind a couple of Whole Foods stores in New York”. (Photo: Vegetables in the former Fresh&Wild, London).

The majority of organic goods carried by Whole Foods (http://wholefoodsmarket.com) lies in the produce section. There is a double line for much of the produce offered at whole foods. That is to say they carry both organic and non-organic options for many of their products. Tomatoes and Oranges are a couple of examples that fit into this category. Lettuce is a product that is always organic. Throughout the store one can also find organic options in everything from the processed items such as chips and frozen dinners, to fresh hot meals offered in the deli/grill section of the store. The Whole Foods Market focuses on Green Design implemented into the building. The store runs on a combination of conventional and wind powered energy. A mixture of halogen and compact fluorescent lights are scattered throughout the store, and green leafy plants line the tops of the shelves.

“We prefer to reduce the carbon footprint,” Sandra explains. “The aim is to have produce available which is grown in green houses or farms in the area. Those products which we have to get from greater distances and abroad, we will continue to have available, but local production is our goal”. The Whole Foods network has an eco-friendly concept which is implemented in their regime. A group of representatives known as the “Green Mission Team” work with each other as well as regional members of the team to keep Whole Foods up to date with their green status and how it can be improved.
 
“Having one’s product sold in Whole Foods Markets can be a difficult task,” Gordon continues. “Trade shows are one of the best ways to become recognized by the store. Thorough analyzation of ingredients and other means of evaluation need to take place, and the whole process can be very complex and time consuming. It pays off in the end as Whole Food’s big name gives the products an advantage in marketing.” The Whole Foods Market in Boulder, CO. is having its 9th anniversary this year. They host around 400 employees. After the first Whole Foods was opened about 26 years ago, the company continues to remain at the top of the natural supermarket scene with 168 stores in the US today. They maintain a loyal group of customers by offering natural and organic food options to the public.

In England there exist already six health food stores – former Fresh&Wild (picture) – owned by Whole Foods, and a large official Whole Foods store is set to open this summer in London. The Kensington location, with 80,000 sq. ft. (7360 m²) of selling space will be the largest food retailer in London. There also exist a couple of Whole Food stores in Canada. Just as Boulder Whole Foods started small and humble, so the entire Whole Foods network began as one simple, solitary health food store. Over the years they developed their product line, built up their name and the number of featured stores across North America. They’re left many of their original stores largely unchanged as a land-mark to the early days.

A Whole Foods store site requires the following: The site must be in an area with a population of at least 200,000 people in 20 minutes drive. It must be 40,000-75,000 sq. ft. (3700 m² - 6900 m²) and plentiful parking available. The city/town should have a large number of college-educated residents, and be situated in a stand alone location. Easy road-way access is essential, with a lighted intersection, and excellent visibility off the street. Being located in an area of high traffic is as well an absolute must. Every store claims to have its own unique architecture, product layout, and location on the map. In constructing of a new store, Whole Foods has a list of requirements which they will present to landlords and brokers interested in potentially providing a retail location.

Whole Foods had the delight of being ranked by the magazine Fortune the number five spot on the list of 100 best companies to work. They have the unique status of being one of 18 companies who’ve made the list since it first began. Of the 39 large companies on the list, Whole Foods made the number two spot. Fortune reasons that the salary cap of the company’s executives has been at a longstanding low value, thus they deserve a spot in the top rankings. Also notable to them was the fact that CEO John Mackey has limited himself to receiving $ 1 per year salary, dismissing what would be owed to him in future stock options, and instead donating it all to the Whole Planet Foundation, and the Animal compassion foundation: the two non profit organizations owned by Whole Foods. What’s more is the fact that Whole Foods covers all of the health insurance premiums of its employees. The Test was comprised of employee responses to a special survey, and an evaluation of each company’s demographic information, employee payment including benefits, and also the overall working environment. Each company was scored in the areas of credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie, all in relation to their working staff.

The author:

Dallas Terry (picture) is doing an online internship at Organic-Market.Info. He is 23 years old and just finished with his studies at "MUM" Maharishi University of Management with a degree in Sustainable living/Environmental Science.
He is now looking for an interesting job in the US or elsewhere. Contact Dallas: (mountainyogi1984@yahoo.com)