Whole Foods Market's Page

Tell us about your company! (What do you do?)

Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com), a leader in the natural and organic foods industry and America’s first national certified organic grocer, was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” in 2008 by Health magazine. The Whole Foods Market motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures the company’s mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to its 53,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 12 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2008, the company had sales of $8 billion and currently has more than 275 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Fresh & WildTM, and Harry’s Farmers Market® are trademarks owned by Whole Foods Market IP, LP. Wild Oats® and Capers Community MarketTM are trademarks owned by Wild Marks, Inc.

What makes your company unique?

Whole Foods Market Santa Barbara seeks out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintains the strictest quality standards in the industry, and has an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture.

What else might people want to know about your business?

Whole Foods Market is continuing to strengthen its commitment to the environment. Most of the stores participate in a composting program where food waste and compostable paper goods are regenerated into compost. Each store has a Green Mission Team, an internal task force composed of Team Members who inform and improve green actions for their store. Whole Foods Market’s downtown Austin and Sarasota stores are recognized for their sustainable green building practices and are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. Recently, the Chicago South Loop store was the first in the Company to earn LEED Gold certification. Additionally, many stores serve as a collection point for shoppers to recycle their plastic bags. Whole Foods Market also has won the prestigious EPA Green Power award consecutively for the past four years for its renewable energy credit purchases.

Website address:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/santabarbara