Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market in 2008: Vision, Core Values, and Strategy Case #1
Organic food is not a novelty nowadays. Day by day, the need to protect our health and our planet becomes more vital. Consumers are more aware of what they eat and take more time to educate themselves about food labels and nutrition facts. The organic label in products promotes a healthier lifestyle and is said to be safe andfriendly for the environment. Whole Foods Market is known for being the leading organic supermarket. This company from the beginning was an instant success. It was cofounded by John Mackey and two other grocers on 1980 in Austin, Texas.
1. Whole Foods has been growing at a very fast rate and has expanded all over the U.S. and in the U.K. on the last decade. It is not surprising why WholeFoods Market is doing well. John Mackey, current CEO of the company, created focused core values, feasible objectives, and clear vision strategies that led it to be the world’s largest retail chain of natural and organic foods supermarkets. Whole Foods Market not only envisions to be the leading organic supermarket but also to be known primarily as an organization that supports the health, safety, andwell-being of customers, team members, and the planet. Their main strategy is to offer quality in each one of their products and excelling customer service. They make sure they know what their customers want and they fulfill and exceed their expectations. The products offered at Whole Foods are organic, natural, and fresh. Their high quality standards drive them to select their product linecarefully choosing the best from the best. By acquiring companies like Harry’s Market superstores, they gain a competitive advantage over other regular supermarkets because they attracted more consumers by emphasizing their company in offering great quality perishables like fresh fruit and vegetables, bakery goods, meats, among others. Their price strategy is another aspect to notice. As the textbookcase states, “Whole Foods sold premium products at premium prices.” It is evident that foods and products are more expensive to produce, consequently are sold are a higher price. Most products sold at Whole Foods are unquestionably more expensive than the name brands sold at other supermarkets. But again, this differentiates Whole Foods from other stores, since their conscious customers are buyinga product that benefits them and their environment. They are willing to pay for what they really want and in Whole Foods their needs are satisfied. From the design of the store to the way they merchandise their products their purpose is to portray a sense of pleasure when buying something from them.
2. The strategy is definitely well matched to recent developments and conditions in thenatural and organic food segment of the food retailing industry since it is a growing niche that Whole Foods has taken advantage of completely. As stated before, it is evident that throughout the last decades, choosing natural and organic products is more than a trend; it is actually a wakeup call to households all over the world. Therefore, demand for organic and natural products has grown and WholeFoods is the only supermarket that can satisfy entirely the needs of demanding conscious consumers. Because even though common supermarkets like Wal-Mart and Schnucks are carrying organic brands to their inventories, there is no place like Whole Foods where customers can find a complete line of natural and 100% organic products.
3. Their leading role in the organic food market is a directresult of their focus on a narrow market niche and their growth strategy. Whole Foods Market became public in 1992, and since then, they have been expanding all over North America through opening new stores and acquiring and merging with other organic foods companies. This is exactly what the slogan “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet” reflects, a sense of social and environmental responsibility...