Whole Foods, the organic and natural foods supermarket trendsetter, turns 30 on Sept. 20. It has been widely imitated in style and concept. Its pricing has garnered it the pop culture nickname “Whole Paycheck.” The relatively tiny chain, which has 300 units in 38 states, has had a cultural impact more akin to that of Starbucks, which has more than 11,000 U.S. locations. [...]
When British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver visited an elementary school in America’s “fattest” city, Huntington, W.Va., he saw the children tossing out fresh fruit in favor of processed chicken nuggets and chowing down on egg pizza for breakfast. But it was the sugar-laden chocolate milk that would stick in his mind, as he recounted this year [...]
Trader Joe’s—”one of the hottest retailers in the U.S.,” as Fortune calls it—refuses to speak to the press about its operations, but Fortune has spent two months interviewing former TJ’s executives, competitors, industry analysts, and suppliers, most of whom requested anonymity. The result? “Inside the Secret World of Trader Joe’s. Fortune magazine describes the organization as “an [...]