My last blog entry was extolling the virtues of Sacha Inchi and how this unique food discovery came to be found in Whole Foods Market stores courtesy of our good friends Laurent and Thierry at the Brandstorm Company.  As promised, this time around I want to give a quick run down on the other nifty products in the TerrAmazon line.  As I mentioned, there are quite a few products that involve cacao due to its ubiquitous nature in South America.  The TerrAmazon cacao is certified USDA Organic and derived from a rare variety of cacao called Criollo, which is less bitter and more aromatic than other species of cacao.  The single ingredient cacao products include cacao powder and cacao nibs.

Read the rest of this entry »

You may remember back in summer when we first started up on Twitter and chose our favorite Tweet of the Day until the end of August. Well, Tweet of the Day is back - starting on Monday November 17th 2008 (coincidentally, also my birthday!).

Monday thru Friday of each week, we’ll be choosing our favorite. This person will then be entered to win the title of our Tweet of the Week and a $25 gift card. The winner will be announced on Monday of the following week.  We’ll be choosing winners for TOTD and TOTW until December 26th 2008.

What do you have to do? Just mention @wholefoods in a tweet and you’ll be considered in the running.  Don’t have a Twitter account?  Get started here.  Happy tweeting!

It all started with a brief conversation at the Fancy Food Show in New York City in July of 2007.  The owner of a company was telling me about an idea for a new product.

“What’s it called?” I asked inquisitively.
“Sacha Inchi,” he said.
“Uh…I’ve never heard of it.” I replied.  I asked him what it was.
“It’s the next cool thing.” he predicted.

Read the rest of this entry »

We have a really cool new bag coming out! You’ve probably seen our large grocery tote bags made from recycled plastic bottles for only 99 cents. Our customers have given us great feedback on them.

When it came time to design a new bag, we wanted to make it even better. We came up with several ideas and these two rose to the top:
1. generate public interest in reusable bags by getting an environmentally conscious celebrity to help design the bag and
2. highlight a strong environmental program on the bag that is helping to change our world.

Done and done. Sheryl Crow collaborated with us on the design of the bag. Didn’t it turn out great?

The Natural Resources Defense Council promotes a great program called Simple Steps. In addition to our monetary donation to the NRDC, each bag has the SimpleSteps.org website printed on it, which encourages customers to embrace simple steps in their everyday lives that reduce consumption and consider the environment.

Since it is gift-giving season, the bags are available in the large grocery tote size and also in a smaller, gift bag size for only 79 cents. Check ‘em out and let us know what you think.

When we sell through this run of bags, we’ll be designing the next version. What ideas do you have for taking these to the next level?

The Teens Turning Green line launched exclusively in Whole Foods Market stores this week. Check out the video to hear some of the Teens talk about the line and read on for three Teens saying what this means to them.

 Teens Turning Green: Play Now | Download (2354)
 Teens Turning Green: Download (2354)

Read the rest of this entry »

Hi!  My name is Hannah and I am a member of Teens for Safe Cosmetics: New York.

Each September, I look forward to the start of the new school year; but this September, all I can think about is the “Teens Turning Green” collection.  In just a few weeks, this fabulous line of products will be available at Whole Foods Markets nationwide!

 Teens Turning Green [3:59m]: Play Now | Download (1496)
 Teens Turning Green [3:59m]: Download (85)

The girls of Teens for Safe Cosmetics, myself included, cannot wait to walk into the Whole Body section of our local Whole Foods Market and see this amazing collection sitting on the shelves.  The collection is something I have always wanted: a line of products made from safe and healthy ingredients, formulated for teens!  And not just for any teen, but a teen turning green!  I think that becoming an educated consumer is a key aspect of turning one’s life green, and by learning about these wonderful products you are doing just that.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hi my name is Mattie and I am a member of Teens for Safe Cosmetics: New York.

Sure, the end of summer can make any teen feel a bit sad with a new school year beginning, and the weather starting to turn. But the girls of Teens for Safe Cosmetics are looking forward to the fabulous launch of the Teens Turning Green Collection, featured exclusively at Whole Foods Markets nationwide. The Collection will land on shelves by the last week in September.

 Teens Turning Green [3:32m]: Play Now | Download (1170)
 Teens Turning Green: Download (73)

It is the first line of truly eco-skin care that’s been formulated specifically for teen skin! And as if that fact alone isn’t enough, each of the products included in our line attains Whole Food Market’s new Premium Body Care Standard, the most comprehensive in the industry. Knowing what you’re putting on your skin is free of parabens and PEGs means that one less thing to worry about every day. Besides picking out a cleanser or moisturizer is almost an overwhelming task, all by itself.

Read the rest of this entry »

Justin Miloro here. As part of my work on our Global Whole Body Team, I have the privilege of overseeing our national music program. You’ve probably seen the CDs we offer in our stores. What you may not have seen is our recently launched Artist Discovery Series. As our national music program grew, we thought it would be fun and exciting to use our stores as launching pads for new artists that are not very well known. We partnered with Inspire Entertainment, who are at the forefront of non-traditional music initiatives, and our Artist Discover Series was born.

As with all of our programs, we tried to think of ways to make it the absolute best for our customers? How about a full length CD for only $4.99? How about a CD that is in eco- friendly packaging? Done! Every three months we will launch a new artist and sell their CD at a wonderful price.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hey! I’m Emily, and I am a sophomore in High School and a part of Teens for Safe cosmetics. A few weeks ago, Teens for Safe Cosmetics had our kickoff meeting for the 2008/ 09 campaign. It was a great meeting with tons of fabulous ideas for our Teens Turning Green Collection, for events, and for new advocacy strategies. However, the most exciting new change was all the new faces in the room! About 10 new teens came to our meeting, and I was reminded of the first time that I went to a meeting and everyone else seemed to know what they were doing while I, unfortunately, was leagues behind in comprehension.

I talked to my new friend Bonnie to figure out what exactly confused her about the new environment and how I could help. We figured out that the best way to understand the science, health effects, and to get familiar with green alternatives was to evaluate her own products. We decided to get informed on a really cool site called Skin Deep. This site, put up by the Environmental Working Group, lets anyone search their favorite brands, products, and the ingredients in them. Each of these are rated on a 0 to 10 scale for how healthy the product, etc, is (10 being the worst, 0 the best). The page then tells you why it was rated that way and what health affects it is known to cause.

Read the rest of this entry »

In their own words…

In the 1950’s, Jacob Paulk began farming just as his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather did. As cotton was on the decline in the 70’s, Jacob decided to plant his first muscadine grape vine. Little did he know that six generations after the Paulk family began farming the very same land, Paulk Vineyards would be instrumental in developing the commercial muscadine grape market and a pioneer in developing muscadine grape dietary supplements: a powerhouse of health benefits!

The vineyards that started as just a few vines in the Paulk family’s backyard now ramble across their land and have led to six generations of family farming. Their mineral-packed muscadine grapes contain high levels of beneficial antioxidants, so the Paulks make their own juices and nutritional supplements, too.

Note: Our Farm to Market slide shows currently feature farmers and producers from our South and MidAtlantic Regions. We hope to expand to others in the future.