i agree that the store is big but i really enjoy that about it. the top floor is all mini food venues which is unique, the ground floor is mostly wine, cheese and the checkouts/tills, and the lower floor is like a regular grocery shop. Mostly dry grocery with long shelf life. I don’t see that there’s really much more space for wastage as would be in a normal grocery store.

while i don’t know the details around wastage in the London store, I’m sure there is a fair deal of it but would also be willing to gamble that it’s less than you’d think. food retail involves loss/shrinkage regardless of whether you’re in a massive store or on a farmstand. if you’re buying is appropriate and there is enough business to support the size of the sales floor, than wastage shouldn’t become any more of an issue than at any other food retailer. honestly, if wastage is what your main concern is than rebel and grow all of your own food. i’ve worked at small organic shops that have what would seem disproportionate levels of waste. it’s also worth pointing out that WFM composts in every store where the opportunity exists so as to minimize effect on the wastestream.

let’s take the worst case scenario where as you said, large quantities of good food going into the bin, is true. what if WFM didn’t buy it? would an organic farmer have been better off not selling the product at all? would she/he have given it all away to charity? no on both points. if nobody buys it, it’s still waste either at the farm or at the store.

local-WFM actually puts a good deal of pressure on the individual stores to procure local product. it’s good for the community and the customers and employees enjoy it equally. i think WFM promotes local better than any other corporation that I know of. WFM isn’t trying to be a “farmstand” as was mentioned by another contributor, but it is making an effort to support the farmer that might sell at the farmstand.

WFM is a publicly traded corporation. some of you will take issue to that sight unseen and that is of course your right. businesses exist to make money. what WFM is trying to do is show that you can provide a return to a shareholder while maintaining a conscience. if more companies followed that lead than I think the world might be a better place, even if just a little.

in my personal Utopia we all live on farms, we don’t drive cars, we don’t communicate in any way other than in print or in person and we don’t continually screw everything that we touch up.

i’m a hypocrite, how about you?

I’ve really enjoyed this and appreciate the forum to have sensible debates!

thank you for taking the time to read and respond - i really appreciate it.

I think that you have a good point in saying that some of the wf bashing is indeed not as much about whole foods as much as society in general, however, for me, wf represents everything I (and some of the people who posted their comments) dislike about the growing good-food-snobism culture.

As I wrote in my original post, from branding, positioning and business strategy perspectives, I think that wf made a mistake in opening such lavish extravagant store. personally, the marrying of goodness with hardcore consumerism is wrong. it’s a clash of values. there is a positive trend towards locally produced, ethically sourcd, no impact, minimum waste etc and that doesn’t fit with that huge, immoderate, excessive store - sorry. It has the feeling of hardcore capitalism dresses up as something else.

I’d really like to know what are you doing with all that is left at the end of the day, and i can only imagine (and will be happy to be proved wrong) it’s large quantities of good food been thrown to the bin.

It feels like big corporate that can handle financial loss decided to go big for the sake of getting into the UK market and no matter how much waste and loss - we are here.

Addmitedly I haven’t been to the store yet, and if/when I’ll find myself in high-street ken I’ll enter and get something and i’m sure that everything you wrote is true and the stuff is lovely and helpful - my problem is with the big suits that runs the business and make the big decisions - they come to represent everything that is going wrong with what supposed to be a positive cultural shift.

Another thing I’d like to point out is that how many other food retailers listen to their clientele as much as this one? If given honest, constructive criticism, we’re generally very responsive. The consumers that understand the ethos of the company learn to realize that we’re pretty approachable about these things. We can’t change the price on the salad bar on the spot because someone is unhappy with it but we can see and hear a trend. When we get consistent and constructive feedback, we listen.

On pricing-you may find that some of our product is expensive. We offer expensive items. You may also find some deals. We offer good value. It really depends on what you want. The butcher shop in the London store for instance offers some of the most reasonably priced and highest quality meats in the city. I’m not bluffing or boasting, it’s really just a fact.

It’s funny because I really do “get” alot of what people don’t like about what Whole Foods represents but honestly it’s a better company than many of the alternatives. Whole Foods never claimed to be perfect, people have put that label on them and it’s just silly.

I get you’re anger, frustration, disappointment but really think many of the issues mentioned above are not about Whole Foods as much as society in general.

I hope this hasn’t raised any hostility, it truly wasn’t intended to. Interested to continue this conversation if anyone would like.

That said, I’m with Asi. Smugness, when it comes to organic foodstuffs, isn’t pleasant. There’s an ‘us and them’ undercurrent which I don’t like at all.

By all means, offer a premium product. But be realistic about how much of a premium you charge. I have to hold my hands up and say I’ve not been there yet (and probably won’t go), and on the evidence of this post/a few friends of mine, it sounds like a bit of a love in. Yes, I want to eat well - but not at the expense of my wallet/joining what sounds like some terribly clichey food police.

No, no thanks. And I believe in brands/branding - but come on guys, be honest about the amount you charge. £12 in anyone’s money is far, far too much for a salad bowl. No amount of self-satisfaction will make me part from my cash for that.

i went to wholefoods kensington when it first opened and was very, very disappointed. it poses as an environmentally friendly shop and yet, in reality, it’s more like a cross between harrods food hall and tesco.
the people who shop there are poncy and smug. they only shop there to show they can afford it, not because they care about environmental issues.

at the tills, the cashiers shove everything into plastic bags without even asking if you want a bag. when i pointed out that i don’t want one, and proceeded to unpack everything into my own bag, the cashier just rolled her eyes.

i actually wrote a complaint to the wholefoods customer service manager and got a really lame reply. apparently, the plastic bag issue is because the cashiers are ‘inexperienced’ and ‘haven’t been briefed on the company values’. that just says it all.

i usually shop in small independent health food shops and will continue to do so. i shall never set foot into the overpriced ‘faux organic disneyland’ that is wholefoods!

I just find it a bit sad that positive sustainable living is going through this penetration phase through hardcore consumerism. seems odd.

the question is what happens after it fades from fashionability? my two cents: the smug yuppies (are they still called that?! will move on, but on the other hand a whole generation of kids are growing up with a much healthier outlook on these sorts of issues (environment, sustainability, healthy lifestyle) than previous generations.