Why Is Whole Foods Rating Its Organic Produce?
Why Is Whole Foods Rating Its Organic Produce? Whole Foods Market will use a rating system of “good” to “best” for its organic produce and flowers, at a time when the chain has more competition.
Whole Foods Market, the grocery store that specializes in organic and naturally grown food just got more organic! The food market chain is introducing a program that labels its fruits and vegetables a s good, better, or best. The new system will also ban the use of several commonly used pesticides. The program is called Responsibly Grown.
In a statement, Whole Foods explained it, “seeks to reward growers for existing accomplishments and raise the bar to encourage continuous improvement while minimizing additional burdens for growers.” It added, “we’re excited … to drive more transparency in the industry.”
These changes were made in nearly 400 Whole Foods Markets throughout the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
So, about that rating system—how exactly does it work? The company considers several factors when considering what’s good, better, or best. A good rating means the growers use basic practices like staying away from pesticides. Better – goes a step further, like supporting conservation efforts. And best implements all those practices plus takes environmental protection into consideration.
Lady Moon Farms is one of the produce companies carrying the best rating. Its founder explained, “Being truly sustainable means more than just not using harmful chemicals. Energy conservation is a big focus for us so we installed solar panels.”
But as many outlets are pointing out, the timing of Responsibly Grown was likely carefully strategized. Just a week before Whole Foods’ announcement, Business Insider reported, Trader Joe’s sales have now doubled those of Whole Foods. The outlet explains, price, of course, is the biggest contributor.
“Consumers view Trader Joe’s as high-quality but inexpensive. Meanwhile, Whole Foods is seen as being too expensive. The grocer even earned the nickname “whole paycheck”. Numbers don’t lie, and at this point, they’re screaming that Whole Foods has some work to do.
In 2014 alone, Whole Foods Market stock plummeted a gut-wrenching 34%. The grocery chain has tried other methods to stay popular with consumers though. In mid-September, it rolled out a rewards program. It wa supposedly something that shoppers had been asking about for quite a while. There’s been no word yet on the results of that effort but it’s still pretty new.
When it comes to the Responsibly Grown program, prices are not expected to change based on the producer’s rating. The company has said that the idea is such labeling typically helps boost sales because people feel better when they’re buying.
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