The business of Food : Big Food, Small Food, by Charles Chhauv

The business of Food : Big Food, Small Food

We started this day at 8:00 pm with a topic which concern everybody because it is talked about food. So that is why we went to an American foods supermarket chain, Whole Foods Market, which is specialized in organic food. During the tour of Whole Foods at 1550 N. Kingsbury, we met the store team leader Rich Howley. I was so impressed how he knows perfectly the store and the ethic of the brand. He knew each details of each department.

To begin with our tour, we went to vegetables department. Whole Foods guarantees its products with labels as the label Whole Trade which is a guarantee their commitment to ethical trade, the environment and quality products sourced from developing nations, because this market has for mission to help others, to support people around the world. Whole Foods pays close attention to where products come from, and want to show to customers full transparency of their products. Compare to France, in US all products are not organic, so they have to separate organic products and conventional products, and thanks to that clients know what they buy. Vegetables and fruits are season products and not unseason because they don’t want to pay the cost of 

transportation.

  After that, we went to fish and meat department. Whole Foods is preoccupied of animals in extinction danger, and consequently they have decided to stop fishing some fish which can be disappear if people continue to kill them.

Concerning meat, they pay attention to animals welfare, so that is why they create a label which garantees that, the label 5-step. Thanks to that, customers know animals were well treated, and they  weren’t lived in bad conditions. Moreover, whole animals are used, no waste is permitted.

Whole foods prepares some products for people who don’t have time to cook, for that they use products of the store to make it. In addition, some bars are present in the store, people can consume directly inside. This is also a good marketing for the product, because if people like the product in the bar, they will like to have it at home, so they are more insisted to buy it.

According to the american culture, volunteering is very present within companies compare to France, so that is why, Whole Foods gives for free some flowers to churches.

Furthermore, networking is present inside the store, they have a curling club, a dodgeball team, and organize some barbecue on the rooftop. Thanks to that, people can improve their relationship while having fun.

After our tour, we ate at the Whole Foods Lounge for the lunch, and Michael Moody joinded us to talk about his business. He is a personal trainer, and the way how he talks to his customers is just awesome. He says that is more easily to talk to someone if you talk about food, because food is a universal language, isn’t it ? Concerning volunteering, it is one of the best way to have more experiences and improve skills, and it allow to have new perspectives.

To conclude, thanks to this day, I have learned more about food in general, and I have never expect that it is so difficult to lead a supermarket. You have to know all details of the store, and each department perfectly if you want to be a good team leader.

So, do you think we live for eating, or you eating for live ? That is a good question.

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rich-howley/1a/80a/706 

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/ 

http://www.michaelmoodyfitness.com/