Whole Foods has been in the process of opening a chain of smaller stores with friendly pricetags. Recently, Co-CEO Walter Robb announces that the chain would be called “365 by Whole Foods Market.” The name stems from the 365 house-brand already sold by Whole Foods. Robb explained that 365 products will be a staple of the new stores, however the chain will also carry other brands.
With the huge popularity of stores like Trader Joe’s and Sprouts, that offer quality house-brand products for lower prices, Whole Foods is clearly trying to branch out from their traditional “whole paycheck” image and compete with the less expensive operations. The first “365” stores are set to open next year, with plans to debut between 5 and 10 locations. However, there are plans to expand quickly, in the hopes that this new chain will be as successful as the original Whole Foods.
Apparently speculations about the name of the store have been circulating for a while, since While Foods Markets Inc. has filed trademarks for numerous names such as Clever Egg, DailyShop, Greenlife, Small Batch, and Swiftgoods. However, according to Robb, those names were all decoys (though he was quick to add that his announcement of the 365 name could also very well be a decoy). Who knew there was so much drama in the supermarket world as to require the use of name decoys? Sounds like some Lifetime network-worthy intrigue right there, folks.
Lauren is a New York based actor/singer/writer. She is a graduate of the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University as well as the College of the Holy Cross. She’s a fan of beer, pasta, and academic establishments with unnecessarily long titles. Find her on stage, or online– she’s there often.
