As Sales Slip, Whole Foods Tries Health Push†

Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2009 — John Mackey, the chief executive of upscale grocer Whole Foods Market Inc., is planning to reposition the struggling Austin, Texas, chain as a champion of healthy living in a return to its natural-foods roots.

Value Is the New Green†

Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2009 — Until recently, being green was the best way for companies to demonstrate a sense of social responsibility, and for consumers to feel good about their purchases. Healthy food, hybrid cars, energy efficiency — these were the attributes that burnished brands.

But now green is taking a back seat to a new core value — value. Green hasn't gone away, but companies are having to consider their "value" equation to try to serve the millions of consumers who either can't afford premium experiences, or just don't want them anymore.

Goodbye Seduction, Hello Coupons

New York Times, November 10, 2008 — As the economy rapidly deteriorates from flourishing to floundering, marketers are scrambling to remake their advertising so products seem affordable and sensible rather than indulgent and fabulous. For many big marketers, including automakers, retailers, consumer product companies and even financial services, a major shift in consumer psychology spells an end to the aspirational advertising that has dominated their campaigns for the last decade.

Whole Foods Looks for a Fresh Image in Lean Times

New York Times, August 2, 2008 — Shawn Hebb may have one of America’s toughest jobs: convincing people that Whole Foods Market can be an economical place to shop.

This week, leading five customers through a store here, he breezed past the triple cream goat cheese, $39.99 a pound, and the fresh tuna, $19.99 a pound, to focus on the merits of beans, chicken thighs and frozen fish.

Then he held up a $1.50 package of tofu. “It looks gross but it’s delicious,” he said.

Ciao Bella—in Your Grocer's Dairy Case

How friendly media attention helped a Little Italy gelato shop move from being a restaurant supplier to a premium supermarket brand

BusinessWeek, June 9, 2008 — Ciao Bella was once content to produce generic desserts. The maker of premium gelato and sorbet sold its wares mostly in bulk to restaurants that served them as unbranded "home-made" ice cream. Retail was just 10% of the company's business in 2000 and the least profitable part. The last thing Ciao Bella wanted to deal with was the logistics of shipping pints of frozen ice cream to far-flung stores. "We fought the growth of retail," says Deborah Holt, the company's vice-president for marketing.

But today Ciao Bella sells through 4,000 retailers accounting for half of its business.

Turning Green into Gold

Prophet, October 1, 2007 — In this article, Andrew Pierce argues that the question for most companies is not if they will take action to make their brands environmentally friendly, but when and the extent to which they will do so. He then discusses what it takes to successfully make green work as a business and brand builder.

Whole Foods' Pickle: Will Consumers See It As A Big Green Meanie?

MediaPost Publications, August 2, 2007 — WHERE ARE THE SCREENWRITERS WHEN you need them? Stage left, you've got the Federal Trade Commission insisting that Whole Foods Markets' bid to acquire Wild Oats is part of its plan for the "systematic destruction" of its competition. Stage right, you've got investors calling for the head of CEO John Mackey--primarily for anonymous postings he made on Internet stock groups over an eight-year period. (Kind of makes you feel better about occasionally shutting the door to your office to play Spider Solitaire, doesn't it?)

Whole Foods Is Consumers' Favorite Green Brand

MediaPost Publications, May 10, 2007 — A NEW STUDY FROM WPP'S research arms indicates a major shift in U.S. consumers' thinking--nearly all Americans surveyed had a high degree of consciousness about the environment that impacted their buying patterns and brand preferences as compared with a year ago, with eight in 10 consumers saying they believe it's important to buy green brands and products from green companies, and that they'll pay more to do so.

Just do it, marketers say

Nike, PetSmart and other companies are trying to sell their brands by inviting consumers to take part in activities linked to the product or service.

Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2007 — Twice a week, 30 or more people gather at the Nike store in Portland, Ore., and go for an evening run. Afterward the members of the Niketown running club chat in the store over refreshments. Nike's staff keeps track of their performances and hails members who have logged more than 100 miles.

Is Whole Foods Straying From Its Roots?

New York Times, February 28, 2007 — THEY came together in what seemed like a perfect marriage: earnest former hippies and Whole Foods, the clean, well-lighted version of the old natural food store. The chain’s stores were filled with organic foods and socially responsible ingredients. They were decorated with pastoral scenes of the local farmers who sold to them; signage explained why local and organic are better for the environment.