Mgt240

WholeFood Market

Competitive Forces and SWOT Analysis

Shelia Droze

Trident Technical College

MGT 240

Prof. Milligan

WholeFood (WF) Market Competitive Forces and SWOT Analysis

Discuss the trends in retailing of organic foods and the impact of these trends on WholeFood(WF) Market.

Organic products and foods growth have become very rapid over the years in the United States organic food industry. They now occupy a large majority of the shelves since the customer base has increased over a short period of time. During this time the organic food markets have sold millions of products and earned billions in sales and the market continues to grow and expand as they introduce large volumes of new organic products. “Supermarkets, big-box stores, club stores and other food retailers have begun to introduce some private-label products”(Dimitri, C. & Oberholzer, L., 2009). Some of these product categories include various meats, dairy products, bread, vegetables, wines and fruits. The demand for these products resulted from consumer’s desires for healthier eating, concerns about pesticides in their foods and overall health and wellness consciousness. Studies have shown that the manner that these products are grown have a positive effect on the environment and the well-being of consumers in general. WholeFood Markets was founded back in the early eighties and evolved from a local supermarket. “Since 2002, most supermarkets have expanded their selections of natural and organic products”(Thompson, Strickland & Gamble, 2009). Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in 1990, to develop the standards and organically produced agricultural products to assure consumers that these products are marketed as organic meet the uniform standards. Meat, dairy and bread were the largest and fastest growing organic product being sold. The OFPA began looking into supermarkets that were labeling their own brand names of organics. The struggle to find organic...