Is Whole Foods really more expensive than Kroger, Safeway or Publix?

[harry chickpea]

I always used WF in my example of the importance of having a pricebook. In south Florida, I could go to WF to buy a package of sprouts and pay $2.89, go to Publix and buy the same size and brand for $2, or go to a dollar store and buy the exact same brand and size for $1. Billions of dollars could be saved if people knew how to powershop like I do. Huntsville has a Freshmarket or something like that that is even MORE expensive than WF. I could buy my groceries online and pay for rush shipping and STILL come out saving money over buying stuff there.

[JL]

Is there another competing national store that is on par or at least close to the level of Whole Foods?

[harry chickpea]

Nothing similar. IIRC, they bought out Wild Oats, which was their competition. There are still local health food stores though. The pricing structure of WF is high enough that the locals haven't been squeezed out.

[Heidi60]

I agree that WF is over priced. We like organic quinoa so I compared prices at WF, TJ, and Costco. Costco had the best price by far. Also, we like Jarlsburg low fat cheese which is more than twice the price at TJ than Costco, ounce for ounce - didn't even bother going to WF for that one. We are every fortunate that within a one block area we have a TJ, WF, and Costco so it is easy to compare their prices. For years I used to buy at Safeway but now their quality is lower than the others.

Since there is only the two of us, and we don't eat meat, we have found the best prices at some of our local mom & pop grocery stores. Some of them do carry old produce so look around. We normally pay about .29/lb for onions, other season produce is locally grown and cheaper because they don't travel across the country to get to the store. Still, we seem to spend about $75 wk for just the two of us and only shop at WF when I want to see if they have something new.

[Amelorn]

In New York (LI), they are higher than the competition. On Long Island and NYC, it's the closest we've got to "designer" grocery shopping. However, they're not the only game in town for any particular item.

We've still got a multitude of indy bakeries, butchers, and greengrocers. The butchers who have survived the onslaught of the supermarket did so by selling premium cuts of meat from smaller and/or local farms. The greengrocers are the same. Instead of the watery wood that passes for a conventional melon, you buy a tastier, richer fruit. And of course bakeries sell breads that can compete with any quality European bakery for $1.75 where supermarkets sell mush for $2.99 and call it a deal.