Whole Foods Market is becoming one of many bodegas in a city of bodegas thanks to an all-new store concept that is inspired by bodega formats. According to a report by Eater, the specialty grocer opened a new convenience store concept earlier this year in Chelsea, New York, called Whole Foods Market Daily Shop. With its new concept, the grocer is offering its NYC shoppers an alternative to traditional grocery formats. The shop features self-checkout kiosks, an açaí bowl station, traditional grab-and-go items (like bagels, pastries, etc.), common grocery store items (including a mini produce aisle and local goodies), and convenience store items (like toothbrushes, shampoos, etc.).
LOCAL PRODUCTS
Daily Shop also highlights local products by offering Gotham Greens pesto and salad dressings, Balthazar breads, New Yorker Bagels, Dunwell Doughnuts, Dough Doughnuts, By the Way Bakery cakes, and Lillys cookies. Other highlights include:
- A produce section featuring seasonal citrus, mangoes, avocados and, bananas, along with cut fruit and luau bowls in the coolers
- A curated selection of flowers, including potted orchids and plants
- Self-serve baked goods, including vegan and other special diet offerings, as well as local favorites – and, of course, New York bagels
- A mochi freezer with popular flavors such as vanilla, mango, strawberry, and chocolate
- Two-dedicated grocery aisles highlighting single-serve convenience-based and everyday essentials – and even a tins of pet food for shoppers’ furry friends
- A small Whole Body section featuring toothbrushes, shampoos, deodorant, cough drops, candles and travel-sized products
- Prime Member Deals highlighted throughout the store with blue weekly deal and yellow sale signage.
WHOLE FOODS MARKET STRATEGY
While it’s too soon to tell whether Whole Foods’ latest store concept, a first-of-its-kind for the Amazon-backed retailer, will pan out, it looks like the specialty grocer is, at the very least, looking to get on solid footing in 2019. In the past three months alone, it announced major 2019 expansion plans, only to then reveal plans to drop its 365 banner.