365 Everyday Value, Whole Foods Market, and Engine 2 Plant Strong are the own-label brands of Whole Foods. Whole Foods approximately features 1,184 products from 365 Everyday Value, 32 products from Whole Foods Market, and 45 products from Engine 2 Plant Strong. Some most popular own-label products include snacks, canned goods, as well as frozen vegetables and fruits.
Overview of The Own-Label Products
- According to its website, 365 Everyday Value, Whole Foods Market, and Engine 2 Plant Strong are the own-label brands of Whole Foods.
- Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value brand uses 'Value priced plus high quality' as the brand's key messaging to attract shoppers. It offers products that meet the company's quality standards and come in natural and organic selections at affordable prices.
- Whole Foods Market offers products with "exceptional taste, authenticity, and remarkable quality". Made of selected natural and organic produce, the products of Whole Foods Markets tend to be unique and exotic.
- Engine 2 Plant Strong focuses on 'strong' plant-based meals to help customers fulfill their nutrition needs without animal products. This brand is only available through Whole Foods Market and Amazon. It also provides various meal recipes on its website, ranging from breakfast, lunch, dinner, to dessert, using the products of Engine 2 Plant Strong.
- A customer may file a complaint and return the Private Label products of Whole Foods if he/she finds unusual taste or inconsistency in the products.
- Own-label products of Whole Foods that are labeled as vegetarian may contain animal by-products that are not acquired from animal slaughter. For instance, products such as honey, milk, and eggs are acceptable for Whole Foods' vegetarian products. However, products labeled as vegan do not contain any ingredient from animal or insect sources, such as carmine, gelatin, rennet, and beeswax.
Own-Label Product Categories
365 EVERYDAY VALUE
- Whole Foods currently features approximately 1,184 products from 365 Everyday Value brand on its website.
- The breakdown of 365 Everyday Value products according to category is as follows: produce (26 products), dairy and eggs (84 products), breakfast (28 products), cheese (78 products), frozen foods (144 products), beverages (102 products); snacks, chips, salsa, & dips (197 products), pantry essentials (449 products); breads, rolls, & bakery (41 products); beef, poultry, & pork (29 products), seafood (4 products); and wine, beer, & spirits (2 products).
WHOLE FOODS MARKET
- Whole Foods features 32 products from Whole Foods Market brand on its website.
- Whole Foods Market products range from organic produces, vanilla extract, poultry, cold-pressed juices, cheeses, seasonings, to bread and bakery.
ENGINE 2 PLANT STRONG
- Whole Foods features 45 products from Engine 2 Plant Strong brand on its website.
- Engine 2 Plant Strong products range from almond milk, tortillas, organic crispbread, granola, plant burger, hummus, chili, organic squarito, pasta sauce, to ravioli.
Own-Label Products Vs. Other Brand Alternatives
- The breakdown of Whole Foods products according to category is as follows: produce (304 products), dairy and eggs (at least 635 products), cheese (250 to 1,000 products), frozen food (at least 608 products), beverages (at least 1,112 products); snacks, chips, salsa, & dips (at least 1,515 products), pantry essentials (at least 1,708 products); breads, rolls, & bakery (456 products), breakfast (277 products); beef, poultry, & pork (384 products), seafood (69 products), prepared foods (107 products); and wine, beer, & spirits (at least 540 products).
- Whole Foods is estimated to sell 7,965 to 8,715 products.
- Although the total number of products carried by Whole Foods was not publicly available, based on our estimates, private-brand products account for approximately 14.5% to 15.8% of all products sold by the company.
The Popularity of Own-Label Products
- 365 Everyday Value was estimated to contribute $2 billion in sales in 2017 and will rise to $20 billion in 2027.
- As of now, 365 Everyday Value is the second best-selling private label brand on Amazon.
- According to Amazon, the most popular products of Whole Foods' own-label brands are snacks, canned goods, as well as frozen vegetables and fruits.
- 365 Everyday Value Black Beans with No Salt Added gained 4.8 stars based on 47 reviews on Amazon. Some customers who bought this product liked how it tasted better than other products. However, a customer said that the taste was very bland.
- 365 Everyday Value Sweetened Dried Organic Cranberries received 4.5 stars based on 19 reviews on Amazon. Some customers said that this product was delicious. But, a couple of customers claimed that the product was way too sweet.
- Delish highly recommended some products from 365 Everyday Value, such as eggs, nut milk, peanut butter, cereals, fresh fruits, coconut oil, coconut chips, brown rice, pumpkin yogurt, chocolate sandwich cremes, and dill pickled almonds.
- An article from Thrillist recommended a bunch of products from 365 Everyday Value, including unsweetened almond milk, almond butter, wheat squares cereal, freeze-dried strawberry slices, maple syrup, cauliflower rice, and turkey breast.
Research Strategy
To find detailed information about the number of products that Whole Foods sells, we attempted to do a few strategies. We first visited the official company's website and browsed the products, hoping that it would provide the necessary information. We managed to collect detailed information related to the private-brand labels and the brief overview of the company by looking through the FAQ page. However, Whole Foods did not specify the exact number of the products sold in the company. Thus, we were not able to find the details we needed on the number of total products sold in Whole Foods.
Then, we tried to find the missing information by observing business and industry-specific publications, including Prepared Foods, Store Brands, and the Charlotte Business Journal. However, we found that the articles released by these publications only contained unnecessary information, such as the food trends in 2020 according to Whole Foods, the new concept of the company, and the company profile. We were unable to collect any information about the number of total products sold by Whole Foods.
As we were unable to find any publicly available information on how many products that Whole Foods sells, we estimated by counting the number of products on the company website for each category and sub-category listed. However, Whole Foods is only able to show a maximum of 200 products in every category and sub-category. The number of products by category are:
- Produces: 304 products
- Fresh fruit: 95 products
- Fresh herbs: 14 products
- Fresh vegetables: 195 products
- Dairy & Eggs: 635+ products
- Butter & margarine: 59 products
- Dairy alternatives: 200+ products
- Eggs: 43 products
- Milk & cream: 133 products
- Yogurt: 200+ products
- Cheese: approximately 250 to 1,000 products
- Frozen Foods: 52 + (200 plus) + 97 + 59 + (200 plus) = 608+ products
- Frozen breakfast: 52 products
- Frozen entrées and appetizers: 200+ products
- Frozen fruits and vegetables: 97 products
- Frozen pizza: 59 products
- Ice cream & frozen desserts: 200+ products
- Beverages: 1,112+ products
- Coffee: 200+ products
- Juice: 200+ products
- Kombucha and tea: 116 products
- Soft drinks: 94 products
- Sports, energy, & nutritional drinks: 102 products
- Tea: 200+ products
- Water, seltzer, & sparkling water: 200+ products
- Snacks, Chips, Salsa, & Dips: 1,515 products
- Candy & chocolate: 200+ products
- Chips: 200+ products
- Cookies: 200+ products
- Crackers: 200+ products
- Jerky: 60 products
- Nutrition & granola bars: 200+ products
- Nuts, seeds, & dried fruits: 200+ products
- Popcorn, puffs, & rice cakes: 78 products
- Salsas, dips, & spreads: 177 products
- Pantry Essentials: 1,708+ products
- Baking: 200+ products
- Canned goods: 200+ products
- Condiments & dressing: 200+ products
- Jams, jellies, and nut butters: 185 products
- Pasta & noodles: 200+ products
- Rice & grains: 140 products
- Sauces: 193 products
- Soups & broths: 190 products
- Spices & seasonings: 200+ products
- Breads, Rolls, & Bakery: 456 products
- Breads: 180 products
- Breakfast bakery: 26 products
- Desserts: 104 products
- Rolls & buns: 71 products
- Tortillas & flat breads: 75 products
- Breakfast: 277 products
- Cereal: 176 products
- Hot cereal & pancake mixes: 101 products
- Beef, Poultry, and Pork: 384 products
- Deli meat: 94 products
- Hotdog, bacon, sausage: 58 products
- Meat alternatives: 79 products
- Meat counter: 26 products
- Packaged meat: 67 products
- Packaged poultry: 39 products
- Poultry counter: 21 products
- Seafood: 69 products
- Prepared Foods: 107 products
- Wine, Beer, and Spirits: 540+ products
- Beer: 200+ products
- Spirits: 140 products
- Wine: 200+ products
Due to the time constraint, we were unable to scan each brand sold in Whole Foods and curated the product one by one according to the category. However, with what was counted, Whole Foods has a minimum of 7,965 to 8,715 products (304+635+(250 to 1,000)+608+1,112+1,515+1,708+456+277+384+69+107+540).
To calculate the percentage of private-brand products that Whole Food sells compared to all items, we divided 1,261 (private-brand items) by 7,965 to 8,715 (minimum total items) and multiplied by 100 to turn it into a percentage. The result was 14.5% to 15.8%.