I’ve only been in our local Whole Foods a couple of times but I know a number of die-hard fans who swear by it. My sense is that they will go out of their way to shop there not just because they like buying “organic, natural and healthy foods” but also because of the whole Whole Foods gestalt. Whole Foods is one of the few companies I’ve heard of with a sourcing practice that emphasizes local farmers with each store buying locally and screening out as many as 100 common ingredients that they consider unhealthy or bad for the environment. (By the way most of what I’m telling you here I found in Porter & Kramer’s HBR article on Corporate Social Responsibility that I discussed in the last two posts. As I said, this was a really meaty article.)
What Whole Food fans may not realize is that Whole Foods commitment to natural foods goes well beyond the food. The entire store is made of almost entirely recycled materiaals. The company buys renewable wind energy credits to offset its electricity consumption. Thier trucks are being converted to run on biofuels and transport spoiled food to regional centers for composting. Even their cleaning products are non-polluting. In sum, Whole Foods does not pay lip service to the idea of “marketing for good” they apply it at every possible point of their “value chain” providing them with a clear and sustainable point of difference from their competition.
It is no wonder my friends have no problem spending more on Whole Foods products. I suspect I’ll be dropping more often myself.