Dive Summary:

• Unlike previous recessions, medium-to-upper-end consumers cut back during recent years, but Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb believes these consumers have adapted.
• Robb says that consumers have decided that quality of life and health are investments worth making.
• The broadening of the chain's customer base, which now spans three generations, has been key to its continued success, and millennials are helping expand it beyond a niche business due to their interest in sustainable, healthy options.

From the article:

Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb discusses the future of the specialty grocery giant's business. Robb says he sees a shift in consumer buying habits—toward sustainable, organic, natural, healthy products—that is in line with Whole Foods' business model and will benefit the company in the long term. ...