The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
Amazon’s top grocery executive took to LinkedIn Thursday to declare that Whole Foods is “in the best position in its 45-year history.”
But what does the achievement Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery and CEO of Whole Foods Market Jason Buechel referred to look like — what did it take to get there?
The grocer that Buechel says is delivering lower prices and a more convenient shopping experience while also growing quickly is a version of Whole Foods steeped in Amazon.
Amazon is known for its trial-and-error approach to new initiatives, especially when it comes to grocery. While Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go as brick-and-mortar chains were busts, the small-format Whole Foods store concept debuted in 2024 is growing rapidly. Amazon further experimented with Whole Foods’ store format when it opened a micro-fulfillment center inside one of the chain’s Pennsylvania stores, a concept that allows shoppers to browse and buy specialty food products but still pick up conventional items like Doritos and Tide laundry detergent.
Plus, of course, integrating with Amazon’s Prime loyalty program has enabled Whole Foods to dole out more discounts and sales than ever before.
However, the original Whole Foods is still shining through. Before Amazon acquired it in 2017, Whole Foods was known as a pricier, health-centered and locally curated shopping experience. And though Amazon may have helped reel in the grocer’s “Whole Paycheck” reputation, Whole Foods can still be bougie — just look at its recently announced Supper Club series going for $100 a ticket in Miami.
Whole Foods also still has its quality standards in place. It currently bans more than 300 food ingredients — up from the 80 it banned in 2017, Buechel noted. And even though Amazon products are technically available in that one Pennsylvania store, items that don’t adhere to Whole Foods’ quality standards won’t make it to the shelf.
So yes, Whole Foods is doing well, and the Amazon empire undoubtedly gives the specialty grocer a wide safety net for experimentation — but Whole Foods will need to continue striking a delicate balance between Amazon’s commercial influence and its specialty soul.
In case you missed it
Kroger has robots rolling around
More than a year after testing autonomous aisle-scanning robots from two different companies at select stores, Kroger is still interested in what this technology can do. The Indianapolis Star reported late last week that Kroger is using Simbe’s Tally robot in some Indiana stores, with staffers for the paper noting that they spotted the robots in at least two stores. The bots scan shelves for inventory performance and alert workers about out-of-stocks.
Longtime grocery CEO to retire
Eric La Flèche is retiring after 18 years as president and CEO of Metro, one of Canada’s largest grocery chains, the company announced on Tuesday. La Flèche will leave those roles at the end of the company’s current fiscal year. The grocer’s board has selected Marc Giroux, currently chief operating officer, to succeed him on Sept. 27.
Weis Markets turns to smart carts
The grocery chain has put Instacart’s Caper Carts at an unspecified number of stores in Pennsylvania and plans to roll them out to additional locations later this year, Instacart announced Thursday. The grocer plans to offer on-cart advertising with Caper Carts, expanding advertising for brands. The smart cart move builds on Weis’ partnership with Instacart, which started in 2023 when it joined the grocery technology company’s online marketplace.
Impulse find
Fudgie the Whale swims into Publix
This summer, Publix is hoping a very cute animal-themed dessert will capture shoppers’ hearts. Ice cream maker Carvel is bringing an ice cream cake inspired by its Fudgie the Whale mascot to Publix.
The round, 46-fluid-ounce cake serves six to 10 people and features “creamy chocolate and vanilla ice cream, signature Carvel Crunchies and that unmistakable Fudgie the Whale design on top,” according to the Monday announcement.
