HEALTH
an enormous success, not only in terms of being the world’s leader in natural and organic foods with over 300 stores, but also as a place where people love to come to work every day! You can feel this energy in each of BC’s four WFM stores—downtown on Robson Street, in Kits on West 4th, in West Vancouver at Park Royal and at 8th and Cambie. WFM was founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas by John Mackey, who remains the CEO. His vision for the store was to: •
• •
Sell the highest quality natural and organic products available Satisfy and delight customers
Support team member happiness and excellence
• Create wealth through profits and growth •
Care about communities and the envi- ronment
• Create ongoing win-win partnerships with suppliers
• Promote the health of stakeholders through education about healthy eating “Tese values are the basis of everything
we do—from in-store events and donations to products in the stores. We always ask the question: how does this fit into our ‘core values’?” says Christine Robertson, market- ing and community relations lead at Whole Foods Market Kitsilano. Christine recently sat down with us to answer our questions about what consumers can expect from their WFM shopping experi- ence—and she also shared some information about the amazing community work they do. Each WFM store is designed with its particular community in mind, but here is a
46 VANCOUVER VIEW April 2012
Whole Foods T
HEALTHY LIVING IN YOUR COMMUNITY [ BY DANA MAHON ]
hey talk about their mission in terms of ‘whole foods, whole people and whole planet’—it’s no wonder Whole Foods Market (WFM) is such
snapshot of what you will find in most locations: Tere’s a bakery, filled with an amaz- ing assortment of muf- fins, cookies, pastries and cakes—including an assortment of gluten-free, reduced fat and sugar- free items. Most brands are from BC and include Terra Breads, Artisan Bakeshoppe and Panne Rizo products. Te Kitsilano store has a scratch bakery onsite and has been producing amazing baked goods since 1995— they have customers that have been regulars for almost 20 years, and a few have weekly standing orders. Te prepared foods (deli) section offers
dozens of specialty and everyday items, fresh all-natural soups and a complete serve-your- self salad bar. Other sections include produce, grocery (which also includes bulk foods), whole body, specialty (cheese and gourmet items), meat and seafood. Whole Foods Market prides itself in the fact that they do not carry items with artificial colour, flavour, preservatives or additives of any kind—there is a rigorous process to establish adherence to these standards and many vendors have had to re-work ingredients or change sourcing in order to comply.
Most of the meats are from BC: Outlaw Ranch lamb, Blue Goose Cattle Com- pany beef, JD Farms turkey, Thomas Reid chicken and Black Forest Meats in the deli. All of the meat producers adhere to the standards contained in the Global Animal Partnership agreement (http://
www.wholefoodsmarket.com/meat/ welfare.php). The specialty department carries lots of popular local cheeses, including Farmhouse Natural Cheeses, Gort’s Gouda and Salt Spring Island Cheese Company goat cheeses.
Some of the standout brands and larger
partners in the grocery department are Nature’s Path, Seventh Generation and Eden Fine Foods. House brands include 365 Everyday Value and Whole Foods Market Brand products.
Popular items in the Whole Body
department include vitamins and supple- ments, amazing body and bath care and children’s items. If you have a special product in mind, WFM will even try to source it for you.
WFM offers a truly holistic shopping experience and their commitment to the environment and healthy living reaches far beyond groceries. Last April, for example, WFM launched a cleaning product rating system called the Eco- Scale (http://www.wholefoodsmarket. com/eco-scale/) and all cleaners in WFM stores will be rated according to the system by April 2012.
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