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February 08, 2005

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malaclypse the tertiary

"They obviously pay a lot more for good employees, all of whom are friendly, upbeat and caring."

You're not paying for the employees, you're paying to opt out of the economies of scale represented by the large commercial farms. There is truly no significant science to support the now ubiquitous thesis that organic is somehow a more healthy choice - but the media is in the business of titillating as opposed to informing, so what one mostly reads regarding commercial farming, GMO, et al. is sensationalized. Pesticides and preservatives are your friends – humans have been using both in one form or another for millennia – and the pertinent science (toxicology) is predicated on the notion that ‘dose makes the poison.’ In other words, in the doses that we imbibe when we consume say, commercially grown fruit, the pesticide residue is non-toxic and more importantly, means there won’t be an infestation of something really genuinely scary inside that piece of fruit.

Anyway, I wonder if the helpfulness and cheer you encounter with respect to the cast of employees at such establishments (which I have also noted) is not simply social reinforcement of group identity. You know – like, “Hey, since you’re shopping here, you must be a party to my socio-political worldview, so I’ll demonstrate every pleasantry so as to inform you of our co-identity.” You should try driving up in a Range Rover, wearing a ‘coming to jesus’ tee, a large crucifix on a chain and a GOP ball-cap and casually eating a big mac while strolling through “Whole Foods” and see if you’re met with the same congeniality.

jbr

hey john, thanks for the feedback...having lived in San Diego, very familiar with TJs and now living in Austing, very familiar with Whole Foods...and agree with your assessment that TJs would likely be the first to blog...wonder which will see the value first?

success is a funny thing and it can lead to complacency...me, if I knew that my current customer base and even more potential customers could be engaged in a new communication channel, then I would be busting my hump to beat the competition...but, that's just me.

again, thanks for the info and Jennifer, sorry for hijacking your blog....

johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy))

fyi ... Whole Foods Market is aware of blogs and blogging. (It is interesting to note their last two national marketing directors are blogging these days: Kirsten over at re:invention and myself at Brand Autopsy.)

One of WFM's competitors, Trader Joe's, seems to be in a better place to begin blogging. TJs brand voice has a nice conversational tone that would make for an engaging blog. For a taste of TJ's brand voice, check out their Fearless Flyer:

http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless/index.asp

David Foster

Don't miss the "food porn" article about WF in the current Forbes...

jbr

so, when will you contact them about creating a blog? shouldn't they stay ahead of the curve and competition? people blog about them, but i don't think they are blogging. like any really smart company, they should be having the coversation with the market. go help them see the future....

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