Whole Foods: We sell a bunch of junk

When Whole Foods arrived in the UK two years ago it was hailed as a mecca for those determined to follow a healthy diet. But today the struggling US store’s chief executive will probably want to eat his words after admitting that, alongside the organic carrots and bags of granola, the shops “sell a bunch of junk”.

The comments came in an interview in which John Mackey was attempting to outline plans for the store to put more emphasis on healthy eating ? amid suggestions that it has recently indulged consumer cravings for more indulgent offerings.

He went on to say that Whole Foods was going to launch a healthy eating education initiative to encourage customers and employees to reduce obesity.

But Mackey told the Wall Street Journal: “Basically, we used to think it was enough just to sell healthy food, but we know it is not enough. We sell all kinds of candy. We sell a bunch of junk.”

He said the store would now attempt to educate in the ways of healthy eating: “There will be someone in a kiosk to answer questions, they’ll have cookbooks and health books, there will be some cooking classes. It will be about how to select food, because people don’t know.”

His comments come as Whole Foods reels from bad news. Jeff Turnas, who was parachuted in to take charge of the group’s faltering UK operation last month, said Mackey’s words “had been lost in translation”, saying that what his boss meant was that eating too many crisps or cakes even if they are organic is not the best way to keep healthy.

The main Whole Foods store is in Kensington, west London, and it runs a handful of convenience stores, formerly trading as Fresh & Wild in parts of London.

But its British foray has been an unhappy one. The group made an operating loss for the year to 30 September 2008 of ?36m, widening from a ?9.9m shortfall for the previous 12 months. Its parent company, Whole Foods Market Inc, has been forced to write off almost ?50m as part of the effort to establish a foothold in the UK.

Mackey said Whole Foods would attempt to rid its stores of unhealthy food, starting with a campaign to get its employees healthier, and would be going back to its roots in selling healthy food.

“Right now, if you work for the company you get a 20% discount card,” Mackey said. “We’re going to create incentives for our team members to get healthier.”

Mackey said Whole Foods is going back to its roots of selling healthy food.

“Healthy eating went on at Whole Foods from at least about 1980 to 1995. Now we’ve had a 15 year run for the foodie philosophy. We are launching a reversal now. We will be moving into food as health.”