365 By Whole Foods Market was a short-lived low cost organic supermarket chain that was formed by Whole Foods Market in 2016 and finally closed in 2019 when its parent company was acquired by Amazon. The chain was formed at a time when prices at Whole Foods was considerable higher that the prices for the same organic foods offered by conventional supermarkets, such as Kroger and Albertsons.
History
In June 2015, the organic foods supermarket chain Whole Foods Market announced a millennial-focused, and more affordable version of its regular stores, called "365 By Whole Foods Market".[2][3][4] In addition to using digital price tags, in-store communication was done through a smartphone app. The stores had the goal of zero waste, which included donating leftover food, using LED lights, and using carbon dioxide-powered refrigeration cases.[5] Jeff Turnas was president of the division.[6]
To cut costs, customers unloaded bulkier products directly off a pallet.[7] Some items, like produce, were priced per item instead of by weight. For items sold by weight, the customers weighed, barcoded, and tagged those items before they reach the check-out counter. Unlike the regular Whole Foods stores, the 365 stores had offered a rewards program.[8]
There were plans to open five additional stores in Illinois,[25] Indiana,[26][27] Ohio, Georgia, and Florida.[8]
Although there were as many as twenty-two 365 stores under various stages of construction by early July 2017, progress at most of these construction sites came to a halt upon the news of the possible acquisition of the parent company by Amazon, and there was no information at the time if and when the construction at any of the building sites would resume.[28][29][30] As a result of the firm's merger with Amazon, Whole Foods canceled the continuation of work at the construction sites for at least two 365 stores. In January 2018, the Fresh Thyme Farmers Market chain announced that they were taking over the abandoned 365 store construction site at College Mall in Bloomington, Indiana, to open a second Bloomington-area store.[31] In the same month, the City of Los Alamitos, California, announced the abandonment of a shopping development that a 365 store would have anchored.[32]
In reviewing the new retail format, a reporter for The Motley Fool wrote that the new stores were "closer to a combination of a fruit stand, convenience store, and a restaurant than a traditional grocery store"[33] while a MarketWatch reporter called them "hipster havens" due to their use of high tech as a cost-cutting and efficiency measure.[34] Most reviews were very positive, although some customers said that they missed talking to actual people when placing food orders via tablets.[35]
In January 2019, it was announced that the 365 by Whole Foods Market concept would be discontinued, but the existing locations would remain open.[36] The following month, it was announced that all existing 365 stores would be converted into regular Whole Foods stores by the end of the year.[37][38]
Private label brand
Although the short-lived chain is long gone, the 365 by Whole Foods Market moniker is still being used by Whole Foods as a private label brand of low cost foods for both Whole Foods and Amazon.[39]
^Christian, Kurt (2018-01-09). "Fresh Thyme to fill College Mall spot once meant for Whole Foods Market 365". Bloomington Herald-Times. Fresh Thyme Farmers Market intends to open its second Bloomington location within College Mall's Boulevard, filling a space that was supposed to house a Whole Foods Market 365... Plans for a Whole Foods banner store at College Mall have been discussed since spring 2015 when the Bloomington Plan Commission first reviewed the project... The store's development stalled, and there was no news about what business might move into the space...
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