Joan Treistman

Whole Foods Shifting Back to Healthy Roots

December 23, 2009

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Over the years, Whole Foods has dabbled with chocolate fountains, and imported sea salts and truffle oil but it is now looking to shift back to its granola roots. What are the pros and cons of Whole Food's shift to focus more on healthy foods and healthy eating?      [more...]

Whole Foods has the opportunity to satisfy a need in the marketplace, a need that is identifiable to shoppers. As Whole Foods concentrates on providing healthy foods and the education required to foster healthy eating behavior, their bottom line will look healthier as well. However, their strategy will require building an image that fulfills important consumer needs without undermining the motivation for regular shopping trips.

I can envision their ability to offer valued products and a satisfying shopping experience that goes beyond the time spent in the store. Consumers will buy what they feel is good for them and good for their families. That aura will carry over into the home and around the kitchen table.

The major challenge as I see it is to attract consumers with the goodness of it all and have them come back often for those other important needs: taste, freshness, convenience, variety, and value for the money.

When people are in a rush, getting them to participate in educational programs or events is difficult. When people are satisfying the taste needs of several members of the household, the knee jerk reaction is to give each person what they want...or let them prepare it themselves.

For Whole Foods it's not simply offering the products and services but effective positioning and merchandising to engage shoppers over the long haul. If they can do this successfully, I believe their profitability will demonstrate the advantage of a focus rarely considered by other supermarket retailers.

We all agree that you can't be all things to everyone and yet we try. As a consequence, energy is expended in too many directions eliminating the buildup of deep understanding that comes with a concentrated effort. Controlling that investment of energy can increase productivity overall and with it, profitability.