Whole Foods Market Research Papers

John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy, the co-founders of the current Whole Foods Market, simply wanted to provide quality healthy food to the American consumer. This was about three decades ago when the first store opened. According to Mackey, making money was not the first priory, but helping people to eat better was. Happily for Mackey and Lawson, the residents of Austin Texas were hungry, no pun intended, for just this type of product. At the time, though there were several small independent healthy food stores, there was not a full sized grocery store. This is what set Mackey and Lawson apart from their competitors, their enormous sized health food grocery store was a huge success and now Whole Foods Market (WFM) is not only a

Whole Foods Market is one of the biggest organic and natural whole food suppliers in the world. They provide a wide variety of select foods that are without hormones or antibiotics and are stamped with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s stamp of approval. They value the fact that they can provide people with access to healthy food and be identified with being socially and environmentally responsible.

Whole Foods Market Inc. is a popular retail destination for natural and organic foods and byproducts, since its establishment in 1980 by four local businesspeople in Austin, Texas. It is notable for supporting sustainable agriculture, promoting the reduction of waste and consumption of nonrenewable resources and encouraging environmentally safe cleaning and store-maintenance programs. The company showcases its ethics and social responsibility through its green mission, foundations, and Whole Trade Guarantee.

Whole Foods has many important values. For example, they believe that their customers are the most important stakeholders and the lifeblood of their business.[8] Whole Foods has five major stakeholders; John Mackey (CEO), James Sud, Glenda Chamberlain, Walter Robb, and John Elstrott.[9] Whole Foods selectively chose where to do business based on their average customer. Whole Foods knows that its products are for health and food enthusiasts.[10]

Number Fifteen: Whole Foods was founded by John Mackey and Renee Lawson. The grocery store was first opened to the public in 1978. The decision to open the store was born after the two local businessmen decided that the organic and natural food industry had come of age and that

Whole Foods was founded back in 1980 in Austin, Texas and led the industry for 20 years by focusing efforts on selling quality fresh, local, and organic produce. At Whole Foods, they consider "quality the highest form of value, which means strict standards that take into account such things as artificial food preservatives, sustainable seafood, animal welfare, antibiotics in meat and pesticides in vegetables" (Wholefoodsmarket.com, Mission, and Values).

After dropping out of the University of Texas in 1978, John Mackey and friend, Renee Lawson (Hardy) were able to borrow $45,000 from Mackey’s family to open a small health food store, Safe Way Natural Foods, in Austin, Texas. A few years later in 1980 they met Craig Weller and Mark Skiles, who owned the Clarksville Natural Grocery, they decided to merge their stores. Thus Whole Foods Markets was born.

Sixty four countries around the world have banned the use of GMOs, otherwise known as Genetically Modified Organisms, within farms and supermarkets. However, the United States, a usually technologically advanced country, has yet to invest much time or effort into this endeavour, one that would make food healthier for people and protect the environment. The US government has taken a step back in this effort for healthier food options, as in the country, companies that use GMOs are not required to label their food as such. Some companies and businesses, however, are working to make a change in the case for GMOs in the US, by advocating minimized GMO usage, menu transparency, or the complete ban of the usage.

Whole Foods Market was initiated its business in Austin, Texas, Their initial creators were John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy, owners of different places where you got natural foods. The original Whole Foods Marketplace started in 1980 with only 19 people in the company. Now Whole Food Market is the best seller in natural and organic foods. At this moment they had more than 310 stores in the North America and Europe. The company keeps the excellent quality in the industry all the time.

Whole Foods is a supermarket that has successfully become the leader in the organic food segment of the grocery industry. While traditional markets have low brand loyalty and recognition, Whole Foods has focused almost entirely on its brand image, causing their strategy to be one of differentiation over cost leadership. Whole Foods is known as being far more expensive than other chains, due to this brand recognition. In their press release for the Q4 2014 results, they describe their vision and sum up what helps them develop that brand recognition. “We hold the idea of “food” to a higher standard, banning more than 75 ingredients commonly found in other stores, and we believe our unparalleled quality standards

Whole Foods Market, Inc, is an Austin, Texas based foods grocery that has the finest natural and organic food available, including produce, seafood, grocery, meat and poultry, bakery, prepared foods and catering, beer, wine, cheese; in addition to whole body, floral, pet products, and household products. Whole Foods is among the most profitable health food retailers in the United States. The rapid growth and market success has much to do with having remained a uniquely mission-driven company, highly selective about what they sell, dedicated to their core values, stringent quality standards, and committed to sustainable agriculture.

John Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods, along with Rene Lawson Hardy, Craig Weller, and Mark Skiles opened the first store in Austin, Texas in 1980. Mackey’s passion, philosophies, and belief that individuals should have healthy eating habits and healthy foods was the driving force behind opening the Whole Foods chain of stores. Although Mackey has been noted and criticized as being very outspoken when it pertains to health issues, one of his firm belief’s is that,

If you were to ask people if they enjoy going to work on Monday, I am sure most of them would give you a funny look, and say “No”. Americans dislike of their jobs is very evident. To see the magnitude of this just look on social media. On Fridays, there are vast amounts of thank god it’s Friday (TGIF) memes indicating how happy they are that they are done with work for the week. Many American simply do not enjoy working. However, a select few actually do. They enjoy their jobs and their co-workers. Sure, they may be far and few between, but if you ask one of the 54,000 Whole Foods Markets employees you are sure to get a “Yes”. If fact, not only does Whole Foods Markets employees enjoy their work, their company is one of the top 100 companies to work for according to Fortune.com. What is so special about Whole Foods Market that their employees actually enjoy their jobs, and what is makes them different from all the other companies out there?

Whole Foods Market (WFM) was founded in 1980 as a single local grocery store by John Mackey for natural and health foods. By 1991, WFM had 10 up-and-running stores with revenues of about $92.5 million in United States Dollars (USD), and a net income of about $1.6 million in USD. In 1992 WFM became a publicly traded company with its stock trading on the NASDAQ. By 2006 Whole Foods Market had progressed into the world’s largest retail chain of natural and organic foods supermarket. As of September 2007 WFM has 276 stores up-and-running. 263 of the stores are located throughout 37 of the U.S. and the District of Columbia. 7 of the stores are in Canada and 6 in the U.K.

Whole Foods Market began in 1970 as a local supermarket. Over the past 31 years, Whole Foods Market has grown from a single store in Austin, Texas, to becoming one of the worldwide leaders in providing consumers with natural and organic foods. They have grown to over 300 stores in both North America and the United Kingdom. (Whole Foods Market, Inc., 2011) This report examines the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market has put into place. Also, it uses past financial data to provide an assessment of the condition of the company going forward. Those assessments include recommendations of future actions, along with concerns I have about the way the company is currently operating and some difficulties that may be on the way.