Similar
Stories
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Whole Foods Market takes first pre-emptive strike at Trader Joe’s
With Trader Joe's opening next month in Fort Worth, copycat products have already begun.
Trader Joe's coffee on left. New Whole Foods coffee on right.
Trader Joe's will finally enter the North Texas market in June, when the first area store opens in Fort Worth on June 15. Its arrival is guaranteed to shake up the local foodstuffs scene.
And at least one "shake-up" is already in the works.
For the first sign of the "TJ's influence" in Dallas, head to Whole Foods Markets and look for "Three Bean Coffee." It can be found either in a stand-alone display in front of the deli area or on an end-cap at the back of the store. It comes in a cylindrical cardboard can about a foot high, with colorful graphics and a re-sealable lid.
Any Trader Joe's veteran would recognize the distinctive container: It looks exactly like the coffee sold at Trader Joe's.
Each can contains about 12 ounces of coffee, but it's the price that screams "We're just like Trader Joe's!" -- $4.99 a can.
It's a whole lot cheaper than Whole Foods' regular coffee, sold in bags or in the bulk bins, and priced from $11.99 to $14.99 per pound. The difference in price between WF's regular coffee and this new coffee line is notable since the supplier is one and the same: Allegro, the Colorado-based coffee company that Whole Foods acquired in 1997.
Introduced in February, the new Three Bean line comes in two price points: a basic trio of light, medium, and dark roast beans for $4.99; and a quartet of higher-end beans including French roast, house blend, Brazil, and Nicaragua, for $7.49.
According to a WF staffer who did not realize the conversation was anything other than a random conversation with a customer, the new coffee line is designed to compete directly with Trader Joe's.
"It's supposed to be comparable to what Trader Joe's offers -- more bang for your buck," the staffer said.
A spokeswoman for Whole Foods said she was unfamiliar with Trader Joe's coffee and couldn't comment on the similarity.
But the coffee is not the only example of the early competition brewing. Whole Foods stores have been sprouting larger, more prominent stacks of wine randomly placed around the store in a TJ's fashion, at deeply discounted prices marked with vividly colored signage, as part of Whole Foods' "Sure Deal" program, first introduced in 2008.
Food shopping in Dallas is about to get a lot more fun.
Related stories
Faved or commented on by...
Latest Contests
Latest comments...
Vote: Name the best burger in DFW
My new favorite is the green chili cheese burger on a jalapeno bun at Chimy's in Fort Worth. It's th
Freddy's Frozen Custard
The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne gives a nearly naked performance on Jimmy Fallon
He's a sexy, sexy man even at his age... YUUMMMMMYYYEE!!!!!!
razorphreak, anonymous:
I could be mistaken, but is TJ a holistic grocer? Obviously they are trying to be local but will their shelves be stocked with as much natural and organic products as WF? If so, then I can see the competition aspect. If not, then this is comparing apples to oranges. Might as well compare Aldi to WF.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins, staff:
razorphreak, they're not direct competitors. TJ's doesn't focus on produce. but there's no question that Whole Foods is trying to compete with TJ's by selling an identically packaged coffee at an unprecedented new low price.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
husebym, anonymous:
It keeps buisness honest. More competiton the lower the price gets. Benefits all.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Kirby, anonymous:
Central Market is also scrambling, apparently. The Plano store had a display of "Cul de Sac" wines today, in the high-traffic area between vegetables and meat/fish. "All varieties" were priced at $2.99/btl. I didn't look closely, but I think they had at least two whites and one red. Two Buck Chuck? Cul de Sac sounds like a dead end to me.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
production9342, anonymous:
Well, it IS retail....but I can tell you that WFds has a long history of bringing in artisanal food suppliers and their goods, ousting them, and then that identical product 'magically' re-appearing on the shelf as their '365' brand...ain't nothin' new, really.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
lmcge, anonymous:
The difference between TJ's & Whole Foods.....Whole foods has fresh seafood...all of TJ's are packkaged/frozen. As far as the other stuff, Price will linger you to TJ's. It's inexpensive hands down.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Tony Cecala, verified:
razorphreak, If you think of Whole Foods as holistic, you are still living in the 90s. They see themselves as a Central Market competitor. The medicinal herbs and the focus on health are long gone. Mackey, the CEO told the Wall Street Journal in 2009, “We sell a bunch of junk.” http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/20...
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins, staff:
production9342, i've noticed that Central Market does the same thing. i'll find an Italian cracker i like, and the next time i go, it's gone, only to be replaced by a ridiculously inferior CM clone.
Kirby, that's a great find, wish i had noticed it myself! sure do wish these companies would offer such bargains on their own without having to be prodded into it by an outsider
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
razorphreak, anonymous:
It's what all the major grocers have been doing for quite some time. You think the "Everyday Value" Walmart brand wasn't a copy? I'm sure there are a ton of business reasons behind that...
While TJ moving in might be a good thing for competition, I honestly don't believe that WF has much to fear since I don't believe they are targeting the same kind of consumer.
As to Tony's comment, it appears you have joined the media in taking comments out of context. http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/08/0...
Same comment but from a different perspective: he acknowledges WF does, in fact, sell "junk food," or rather unhealthy, high calorie snacks. That does not mean the food they sell is junk, which you were implying means every item in the store is inferior in some nature. Just like with any other grocery store, they do sell plenty of healthy options, possibly more so than most with the more organic focus.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
DarrylC, anonymous:
Stores like Sprouts are closer to TJ's competition in all practical respects than Whole Foods or Central Market. They probably have much more to fear, especially if any future Trader Joe's stores open nearby. Sprouts has inexpensive wines, prepackaged dried fruits and nuts, etc., and a solid selection of produce. TJ's does have rather extensive produce in California, although not to the degree as supermarkets.
The competition here is for a particular demographic. TJ's always opens in more upscale areas and draws in relatively affluent shoppers with their convenience and prices. People who might make a longer trek to WF or CM for specialty food items and snacks will turn to TJ's if they're closer. That's what WF fears, I'd wager, especially in Lakewood.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
unlisted, anonymous:
Trader Joe's is well known in other cities for its incredible selection of KOSHER foods. Hope that's the same when it comes here, with many consumers who keep Kosher!
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
John Turner-McClelland, verified:
Sprouts is not cheap though. I probably pay double what I would pay for the same things I can now find in Kroger's natural section. I do like going to Sprouts sometimes.
Haven't been to Central Market or Whole Foods in years since it is not convenient to where I live or work now.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
marcy, anonymous:
I'm so excited about Trader Joe's I almost can't sleep and even started writing out my first grocery list. They're better than any supermarket and far more affordable than Whole Foods. TJs sells fresh Kosher chicken, ground meat, fabulous frozen foods, and they've got the best (and leat expensive) dairy products anywhere. I want them to open a store across the street from my house.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
What do you think?