Lots of stories today about Whole Foods and their latest "nonsense product, supposedly healthy or organic or artisanal, served at an outrageous price"... in the most recent case, "asparagus water".
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2...
http://jezebel.com/whole-foods-yanks-...
I particularly liked this part of the Guardian's piece: "So who is buying these things? I’ll tell you. Idiots. Idiots with too much money. That’s the whole idea. ..."
I still have trouble understanding why ppl shop there. The cheeses yes, Some Bulk stuff.but the rest????
At my local WF the beef comes from local farms and actually tastes like beef. The cheese selection is actually inferior to the local Wegamns. We stop by once or twice a month for steaks/ground beef/roasts.
I have no idea who is buying their "watermelon water" or "asparagus water."
The idea itself isn't nuts (especially watermelon water, or agua fresca, which can be delicious). Cucumber slices can give a pitcher of water a really nice flavor. But that's a ridiculous price. If they'd charged something more like $2 no one would have cared.
I saw that today and convinced myself that it was a joke. Who the hell would drink asparagus water, especially at $6 per wee little bottle? And I like asparagus.
The funny thing is that my local WF has free water as you exit. Watermelon water, cucumber water, orange water, etc--large bottles of water with ice and a fruit or veggie to refresh during the hot spring/summer--it's different every day. But it certainly illustrates how we can make this at home cheap.
Just addressing price/value based motivations for shopping at WF: I really like their store brand 365. The 365 peanut butter and, especially, the frozen haricots verts are by FAR my favorite I've ever tried (I eat the haricots verts about 4x/week). So for me the store brand (which is inexpensive, if maybe not the literally cheapest brand on the market) is a fantastic value. They also often offer the cheapest option to buy an expensive-ish product (e.g. energy bars, quality yogurt, quality ice cream).
Edit: this was supposed to be a direct reply to FriedClamFanatic...
Yes, I am also a 365 brand consumer. Their frozen vegetables and breads are about the same price as Trader Joe's.
yes! on the frozen haricots verts. My favorite frozen vegetable as well. I go through at least a bag a week. I've also gotten some great steaks on sale there. Still not cheap, but totally worth it for the flavor.
I see people debating the cheese section. I'm a big fan of the $4 and under basket, which has all sorts of treasures in the form of small "remainders" of $20, $30, $40/lb cheeses. Great for a single person who wants a single serving of some really great cheese.
For whatever reason, WF here seems to be extremely consistent for seafood. Have never had bad product from them.
But I hit WF maybe once every 6 weeks, so I wouldn't say I "shop" there.
Agreed-they have decent seafood, and definitely better than most grocery chains. Spendy, but for much better quality than the local competition. I have a fishmonger, so I don't need WF, but fishmonger and butchers are becoming increasingly hard to find.
With that being said, for the city dweller, they are often the only option for organic fruits and veggies and better quality stuff (or some stuff period - ever look for harissa at your other big chain supermarkets)?
Yes, they have plenty of products targeting the wealthy yuppie who can't bother to compare prices, but they also have good products that are not a bad value when on sale.
My daughter's a city-dweller with no car. WF is pretty much the only option.
We don't have a car. I've lived in walking distance to a Whole Foods for 12 years and have been in twice; both time were when we had first moved there and I didn't know where to get specialty items yet.
I live downtown Toronto and just don't need to go there. If I wanted to buy organic (I don't), I could get it at the grocery store. I buy my meat at the St. Lawrence Mkt or other butcher; cheese there too.
In one trip to WF, I did see Mike Myers. He was on his cellphone buying cheese. And I heard him say something like 'now I'm one of those annoying people on the phone at the grocery store'
I do shop their sales. Last week I got some deveined shrimp for $6.98 per pound, and picked up some rib eye for $7.99 lb.
As to why people shop there, it probably depends where you live and what alternatives you have. For example, in NYC, they're the last place to shop for cheese. They're GROSSLY overpriced and the quality is no better, and sometimes worse, than other sources (for the same, not just comparable, things.) Comparatively speaking, they are a pretty good source for meat, and to a lesser extent seafood, though.
On the other hand, I have a great deal of trouble why many people shop they way they do, and not just at Whole Foods...
I will occasionally shop there when my husband wants to come with me to the grocery store. He loves the atmosphere, and hates Market Basket, where I normally shop for normally priced foods.
WF does have some things I can't find elsewhere (cheap organic milk, sfogliatelle), but the list is decreasing. And I do love the hypocrisy. I love it when I ask for an item they don't carry, and the employee says it's because that item contains X ingredient, and then I point out a product that they do carry with X ingredient. But I have to be in the right mood.
I see there is already a thread on this topic http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1021142
Sorry. But in my defense, I DID do a search on the site for Whole Foods and sorted by Recency -- and I didn't see the thread already posted. I hope the new "Beta" site has a debugged search capability!
I can only speak to the one I shop at but it carries a large amount of locally made products. In addition to cheese and meats they have supported a number of local business with regards to things like BBQ sauce, ice cream, pastas, etc. While I still prefer to give my money directly to the owner/producer it nice to see them supporting local business and giving me easier access to great products.
While WF is rarely a "destination" for me when I do go I love to stock up on a number of there 365 products. The frozen veggies and fruit are great.
Now the ridiculous waters? Being sold to the same folks that frequent juice bars or buy those juice cleanses.
They are all a bit different. The one near my office sells BBQ meats at the butcher counter. I can get a decent smoked brisket or pulled pork sandwich there at a very reasonable price. They do not have this feature at the one near where I live. Just about all of them I've visited have pretty good stews near the butcher counter as well. I was in the Henderson NV one a couple of times and they have an awesome deli counter. As others have noted, the seafood is always very good, though often pricey. These are the things, along with cheese, that I usually stop by for.
As to the asparagus water, I'm holding out for the kale water.
Do you suppose anyone actually bought this? We all like to mock Whole Food shoppers, but just because people prefer organic produce and dairy, etc., doesn't mean they're stupid. I'm guessing people looked and laughed, then went to get some nitrate free hotdogs and GMO free buns.
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