Wholefoods Marketing Mix

Wholefoods Marketing Mix

Product

A typical store of Whole foods carries over 2,600 natural and organic products that include produces, seafood, grocery, meat/poultry, baked goods, prepared foods & catering, coffee & tea, nutritional supplements, body care, educational products, floral, pet food & products, and household. Each store is able to source products through local traders and producers, engaging in significant amount of local trade and product sourcing. In addition, the company also imports from international suppliers that are carefully selected and meet Whole foods and local standards. Whole foods also offer its own line of products called 365 Everyday Value that meet Wholefoods food quality standards and additionally a body care line called whole body care that includes a variety of different skin care and grooming products.

Price

Whole foods market sells high quality products aimed to attract middle class to upper class customers, older people and urban singles who are physically fit and have active lifestyles. Natural and Organic foods have higher prices due to stringent regulations, approval stamps ( e.g. USDA certified organic), and shorter shelf life. Whole foods pricing is valued according to the quality of the products they carry. “The price of the product is considered through determining the cost of making the product, the salaries of people producing the product, the cost of operation and the other expenses made in the creation of the product ( Value based pricing strategy). With this price strategy Whole foods maintains and ensure the product to be of high quality and longer durability. The 365 Everyday Values gives consumers a choice to purchase Whole food’s own brand at a slightly lower cost.

Promotion

In October 2014, Whole foods started a national marketing campaign for the first time in the company's history. The campaign will includes television, internet, mobile, and social ads and educates consumers on product quality and their options in the marketplace, while also helping to differentiate Whole Foods from some of its competitors. Whole foods has a very strong Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) program. This is perhaps one of main reasons for their success. Some of the frequently used promotion tactics includes: Online promotion, Social Media, News Papers, Television, Magazines, Public relations, Community Event, Sponsorships, Contests, and their own stores and employees as brand ambassadors as well as sampling of many products at the stores. Whole foods has always used their communication strategy to engage customers and community and now heavily using social media as a key tool to promote their values to their customers. According to their website, Whole foods publishes roughly 1,000 messages per day across 900 social media channels and their overall social media footprint on Facebook and Twitter is approximately 7 million. Additionally, Whole foods is currently testing a loyalty rewards program in New Jersey, with plans to roll out nationally by the end of 2015. The loyalty program is necessary because it could give shoppers an incentive to go to Whole Foods over competitors.