Chapter 7 - Business Marketing

    As Whole Foods Market gets bigger, it get smaller. Well what do you mean? Now with over 176 stores, the company has only 11 regions. So decision making towards the business becomes more civilized being able to understand local shoppers.  The company believes it can educating them on the natural/organic difference as it relates to better tasting food, healthier living, and the positive impact on the environment. Each store has a certain marketing and communication relations professional.  

 

The company's team members are very knowledgeable and caring which helps make the store such an success. Making sure the customers are satisfied.

    Whole Foods cares about ingredients. The company markets products that are pure, natural and overall healthy, meaning organic. Their products are high quality.
    Whole Foods Company opened its doors in New Orleans in October 1974. Its mission was to be a grocery store featuring good, wholesome food; not a "health food" store filled with pills and potions. Sales doubled each year for the first four years for the company. By 1978, the store, being only 1,100 square feet compared to the 22,000 that it is now, was making more than $1 million per year. Success was fueled by a committed staff who were all stockholders in the company.

Chapter 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

Mostly all companies a specific audience or consumer that buys from their store. Spontaneous? I think not. Whole Foods Market has a variety of customers, but walk into a store of there's and you will most likely find Caucasian customers. Majority of Whole Foods stores are built in middle to high end neighborhoods or communities that are doing well. The low income areas are not the target market for Whole Foods because they could not sustain their business model there, but the company should try it out. You will find college educated students, middle aged women and men that are mostly Caucasian. Not to say they are the only ones who shop there and also there are probably people who are not educated, but just like to eat healthy foods. The people that are most likely to shop at Whole Foods are those who are interested in natural and organic food. It's those who do their research on what is right to eat and those who have the money to spend, meaning those who are employed or have some kind of food benefits.

      Pictured above, celebrity Katie Holmes found shopping at Whole Foods Market.

Chapter 11 - Developing and Managing Products

 

Natural and organic products are rapidly growing. So therefore, its only right that Whole Foods meet the demands. The natural foods market is saturated with products. To get your product on a shelf at Whole Foods you must meet specific guidelines. Whole Foods Market purchases products for retail sale from local, regional, and international wholesale suppliers and vendors. The company makes sure their products do not carry chemicals such as artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, preservatives, and many others as listed on their online "Unacceptable Food Ingredients" list.  The Whole Foods Market website details the company's criteria for selling food, dietary supplements, and personal care products. According to CNN, the extent of Whole Foods Market's nutritional screening is it "doesn't carry any food containing trans fats or artificial coloring." In June 2011, even products that were not food started to switch over to the organic side. 

 

 

Chapter 16 -Integrated Marketing Communications

In today's society, advertising is being taken to the next level. This is the case for Whole Foods Market.

In ways of, in print, broadcast and online. Whole Foods Market is able to communitcate and stay connected with their followers or buyers. The fact, the we have Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and more.

 

Yet, Whole Foods Market does simplify and modest their brand just by their promotional sales through the store every so often. The Internet, thier magazines, and social networks are the main factors of the Promotional Mix for the company.

Chapter 10: Products Concept

   The natural foods market is saturated with products. Especially, Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods cares about their products ingredients. If they don’t like what’s in your product, they won’t sell it. Buyers now a days do a lot of their research online.Buyers want products that sell and they want to know what you intend to do to make sure your product will.
    Their labels  need to be designed to meet FDA or USDA specifications. Whole Foods, the natural-foods giant that has more than 270 locations around the country.   Whole Foods makes a effort to support local vendors. They have a well established “Local Producers” loan program and a designated position at store level called “Food Forager.” The person is responsible for identifying local products.

Chapter 18: Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Who doesn't love organic food, besides that fact that its a little expensive. The other day I spent $6.99 on a 16.oz jar of honey. But, don't be like me. You can actually save money while shopping healthy and buying organic products.

In mostly all Whole Foods Markets, when you enter the store there are flyers that promote sales that are current or that are happening in the future. You may be able to find that product you want for $2 or $3 dollars cheaper. Also, I can't stress this enough, but you can find promotional codes throught social networking. Such as Twitter, Facebook, and there official website. When you go to check out your items, also bring your own bag because whole foods charges 10 cents extra if you don't.

Ch. 17 - Advertising and Public Relations

    Unlike many companies, Whole Foods Market does very little traditional advertising. Their strategy instead has always been to use a more grassroots approach and to try to reinvest as many dollars into the local communities and causes instead. The little advertising that they do is on a local and/or regional level. According to Bill Tolany of Whole Foods Market, responses to customer comments make up 85% of all the Tweets the company sends out. 10% of the Tweets are content-based and 5% are promotional. Tolany said customers who are more knowledgeable about food are more likely to be Whole Foods customers. So, the company makes efforts to help people learn more about ingredients, locate recipes and pick up health tips. Notice, this information serves to benefit customers not, blatantly advertise for the company. Whole Foods makes itself more approachable by encouraging customers to interact with them through social networking.

Chapter 15: Retailing

    Most of their retailing products comes from the store individually, but they also have different major types of retail operations.

 

In a book Brandwashed, it explored the many strategies retailers use to encourage us to spend more than we need to--more than we intend to. Without a shadow of doubt, Whole Foods leads the pack in consumer priming.
Let's pay a visit to Whole Foods' splendid Columbus Circle store in New York City. As you go down the the escalator you enter the realm of a freshly cut flowers. These are what advertisers call "symbolics"-unconscious suggestions. In this case, letting us know that what's before us is bursting with freshness.

Chapter 6: Consumer Decision Making

    An consumer who makes the decision of purchasing and buying Whole Foods Market products would be one who likes to eat organic and have an health way of eating or lifestyle. Also, someone who likes or promotes recycling or the "go green" movement. Whole Foods Market also attracts middle to high income families being that most of the products in the store are expensive. That is where most of the stores are developed, in middle-high income families.These kind of people probably work office jobs, the type of person would be business savvy. When entering into the store, you mostly see middle-aged Caucasians. If a person doesn't want to spend a lot of money, but still wants to eat organic foods, they can go to Trader Joe's or Fairway Market for cheaper alternatives. Also, a person can go to local farm or grocery markets even though it would be much cheaper the quality probably won't be the same or there won't be as many options to choose from.

Chapter 5: Developing a Global Vision

    There are thousands of consumers who want to eat high-priced natural foods and be rewarded with both good health and psychic income from the experience,” said Gene Hoffman, president/CEO, Corporate Strategies International.

  Whole Foods Market is planning on furthering on opening over 1,000 stores in North America alone and develop stores globally. Even though in 2005, the company isable to oen a store in Lo ndon.

Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment

In January 2008, Whole Foods Market chain stopped offering plastic bags to customers in over 270 stores. Well how were they to carry food you say? And this is where the marketing comes in, because they caused so much controversy, attention and confusion. Instead they offered up brown steady bags and/or reusable bags. Also, as of April 2011, the company started using post-consumer recycled materials. By using enviromental friendly forms of packaging they shift the awarness of the fact that their company is making changes by joining '365 value' which is an PCR company.

Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Responsibility

Since 2008, Whole Foods floral program has put more than $2.3 million into community projects through an 10% premium. In 2011, group of Whole Foods Market team traveled to South America, visiting farms, meeting growers and seeing the benefits of our Whole Tradeflower program. There are over 700 farms that helps the local communities. Through their efforts they have numerous projects, including education scholarships, home loans, school improvements, dental services, community computer centers, music education, laundry services and more.

Chapter 2: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

There are rarely any organic stores or markets. Okay, well there are a some. But very few. Whole Foods Market just happens to be a overly popular organic store, with over 320 stores global. That's 17 less than Trader Joes, there competitor. There market strategy or plan is social networking. And that's where the money comes in. By interacting with millions of customers, displaying the latest products, and showing the discounts/sales that are available they lure people in to buying their products or keep them updated on projects. 9/9/12 at 4:44pm Update Revised 2/9/2012 at 2:37pm Whole Foods plans on opening a store in downtown Detroit in May. They plan to triple store count to 1,000 and boost sales by opening locations.

Brief History of Whole Foods Market.

 

    Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas. In 1978, John Mackey and Rene Lawson Hardy, borrowed $45,000 from family and friends to open the doors of a small natural foods store called SaferWay in Austin, Texas. Two years later, John and Rene partnered with Craig Weller and Mark Skiles to merge SaferWay with their Clarksville Natural Grocery, resulting in the opening of the original Whole Foods Market on September 20, 1980. Beginning in 1984, Whole Foods Market began its expansion out of Austin.

Whole Foods Market Mission Statement.

"Quality is a state of mind."

 

    Whole Foods Market is a company based on serving excellent qualfied food in the food industry. Their goal is to serve and produce high quality natural and organic products. Also, to give back to the community by donating 5% of their after-tax to not-for-profit organizations. The company promotes enviromental friendliness with the phrase... "Reuse. Reduce. Recycle. They were the first major retailer to offset 100% of their energy to use with wind energy credits.Their motto is "Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet — emphasizes that our vision reaches far beyond just being a food retailer."