One MNB user had some thoughts about Whole Foods’ intended makeover, moving away from its gourmet image and back to its healthy living roots:
As a weekly Whole Foods shopper, I offer two suggestions: (1) Reduce the amount of merchandise overlap with general grocers including Giant Eagle, and Kroger. By my crude and unscientific count, I can find roughly a third of package goods on the shelves at Whole Foods that I can find at Giant Eagle and Kroger. That's a problem for any retailer, but especially problematic for a retailer like Whole Foods that charges more for the same item. (2) Eliminate corn fed beef. Corn is bad for cows. If Whole Foods stocked grass fed beef that came from cows that were raised on a ranch instead of a feedlot or fattening pen, then the company would simultaneously return to its roots of offering healthy food and offer a product not found at Giant Eagle and Kroger.
Interesting points. I don't shop Whole Foods – there isn’t one near me, and it is a little out of my price range (I have three tuitions to pay for) – and so I had no idea there was this kind of overlap.
MNB user Bob Reynolds wrote:
Back to Basics??? -- How is Mackey going to profitably fill 60,00 to 80,000 square foot current and committed stores with organic almond butter and granola. These stores were designed for fancy foods and as a place to eat lunch and dinner.
Did you see that there are 19 "current leases tendered." Presumably, these are finished boxes on which Whole Foods is paying rent but that are not built out. Sounds like an albatross to me.
Regarding the Slate.com taste test of coffee sold by Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts (the latter won), one MNB user wrote:
I am an addict to coffee, and also work in a food lab. Part of my day is spent in the chem lab and the other part spent working on sensory testing.
I like all three coffee, but to me it's all mood dependent. Starbucks is always my first morning coffee and to me the flavors are more intense, and refined. Is it a dark French roast, a smooth bold Columbian, or is it a chocolately Kona blend with smooth hints of astringency. They really appeal to a different crowd.
Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds is my "in a pinch" ;either I'm out of Starbucks funds for the week or I'm just running late on the weekend but need my caffeine boost. I don't think of any of the Dunkin Donut Coffees are gourmet. They are not a fine bottle of wine if you will. I can't pick out a different flavor notes like I can when I purchase my Starbucks. Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds are both similar to me, they are the mutts of coffee. No distinct defined flavors, just a good ol' cup of coffee. There is nothing wrong with this, but to me it's comparing apples to oranges.
Starbucks has defined flavors dependant on what's brewing, and I appreciate the refinement of it all.
This should be positioning that Starbucks is pleased with, I would think.
We noted yesterday that the National Football League (NFL) has struck a deal with Procter & Gamble that will make the consumer packaged goods giant an official league sponsor, with some of its items soon to be labeled as “official locker room products of the NFL.”
I commented:
Seems to me that there recently was a story making the rounds about how P&G really wanted to improve its men’s product business, so this sort of tie-in really makes sense.
Though one has to wonder if there will be a culture clash between P&G and the league that gave us Michael Vick, Pacman Jones and Plaxico Burress. (Did you know that there have been more than 450 NFL player arrests or citations since 2000?)
MNB user Jason Williams responded:
Relating to your KC’s View on the P&G story. 450 NFL arrests since 2000. I agree that stories like Plaxico Burress and Michael Vick have dominated some headlines and tainted the view of the NFL for some. However, I would be interested in seeing the true statistics compared to other leagues. The NFL has 60 men per roster compared to around 15 for the NBA. What is the total percentage of players being arrested when comparing the 2 leagues?
Another MNB user wrote:
We need to keep in mind what the total number of players in the NFL since 2000. I believe there is a 55-man rooster for every team so you can do the math! A LOT of players/young players with lots of $$$$$ and very young players with lots of $$$$$. Sometimes lots of $$$ result in very stupid stuff!
My point is the NFL & P&G is a good fit for some of the P&G products they will be advertise!
Maybe we should look at the good that the NFL brings and let's not spend time on what a few have done to give the NFL a bad name!
I didn’t say it was a bad deal. Just that there is a bit of a potential culture clash.
That said, there were more than 450 arrests and citations in the last decade…and I don't care what the comparisons to other leagues reveal. That’s way too many by any standard.
And another MNB user wrote:
What's old is new again.
Some of your younger readers might not remember a cross-dressing NFL star (Joe Namath) hawking Noxzema shaving cream on TV (with a then-unknown model named Farrah Fawcett). Remember the jingle? Remember the controversial panty hose spots?
Actually, aging being what it is, many of your older readers might not remember either...
As a weekly Whole Foods shopper, I offer two suggestions: (1) Reduce the amount of merchandise overlap with general grocers including Giant Eagle, and Kroger. By my crude and unscientific count, I can find roughly a third of package goods on the shelves at Whole Foods that I can find at Giant Eagle and Kroger. That's a problem for any retailer, but especially problematic for a retailer like Whole Foods that charges more for the same item. (2) Eliminate corn fed beef. Corn is bad for cows. If Whole Foods stocked grass fed beef that came from cows that were raised on a ranch instead of a feedlot or fattening pen, then the company would simultaneously return to its roots of offering healthy food and offer a product not found at Giant Eagle and Kroger.
Interesting points. I don't shop Whole Foods – there isn’t one near me, and it is a little out of my price range (I have three tuitions to pay for) – and so I had no idea there was this kind of overlap.
MNB user Bob Reynolds wrote:
Back to Basics??? -- How is Mackey going to profitably fill 60,00 to 80,000 square foot current and committed stores with organic almond butter and granola. These stores were designed for fancy foods and as a place to eat lunch and dinner.
Did you see that there are 19 "current leases tendered." Presumably, these are finished boxes on which Whole Foods is paying rent but that are not built out. Sounds like an albatross to me.
Regarding the Slate.com taste test of coffee sold by Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts (the latter won), one MNB user wrote:
I am an addict to coffee, and also work in a food lab. Part of my day is spent in the chem lab and the other part spent working on sensory testing.
I like all three coffee, but to me it's all mood dependent. Starbucks is always my first morning coffee and to me the flavors are more intense, and refined. Is it a dark French roast, a smooth bold Columbian, or is it a chocolately Kona blend with smooth hints of astringency. They really appeal to a different crowd.
Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds is my "in a pinch" ;either I'm out of Starbucks funds for the week or I'm just running late on the weekend but need my caffeine boost. I don't think of any of the Dunkin Donut Coffees are gourmet. They are not a fine bottle of wine if you will. I can't pick out a different flavor notes like I can when I purchase my Starbucks. Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds are both similar to me, they are the mutts of coffee. No distinct defined flavors, just a good ol' cup of coffee. There is nothing wrong with this, but to me it's comparing apples to oranges.
Starbucks has defined flavors dependant on what's brewing, and I appreciate the refinement of it all.
This should be positioning that Starbucks is pleased with, I would think.
We noted yesterday that the National Football League (NFL) has struck a deal with Procter & Gamble that will make the consumer packaged goods giant an official league sponsor, with some of its items soon to be labeled as “official locker room products of the NFL.”
I commented:
Seems to me that there recently was a story making the rounds about how P&G really wanted to improve its men’s product business, so this sort of tie-in really makes sense.
Though one has to wonder if there will be a culture clash between P&G and the league that gave us Michael Vick, Pacman Jones and Plaxico Burress. (Did you know that there have been more than 450 NFL player arrests or citations since 2000?)
MNB user Jason Williams responded:
Relating to your KC’s View on the P&G story. 450 NFL arrests since 2000. I agree that stories like Plaxico Burress and Michael Vick have dominated some headlines and tainted the view of the NFL for some. However, I would be interested in seeing the true statistics compared to other leagues. The NFL has 60 men per roster compared to around 15 for the NBA. What is the total percentage of players being arrested when comparing the 2 leagues?
Another MNB user wrote:
We need to keep in mind what the total number of players in the NFL since 2000. I believe there is a 55-man rooster for every team so you can do the math! A LOT of players/young players with lots of $$$$$ and very young players with lots of $$$$$. Sometimes lots of $$$ result in very stupid stuff!
My point is the NFL & P&G is a good fit for some of the P&G products they will be advertise!
Maybe we should look at the good that the NFL brings and let's not spend time on what a few have done to give the NFL a bad name!
I didn’t say it was a bad deal. Just that there is a bit of a potential culture clash.
That said, there were more than 450 arrests and citations in the last decade…and I don't care what the comparisons to other leagues reveal. That’s way too many by any standard.
And another MNB user wrote:
What's old is new again.
Some of your younger readers might not remember a cross-dressing NFL star (Joe Namath) hawking Noxzema shaving cream on TV (with a then-unknown model named Farrah Fawcett). Remember the jingle? Remember the controversial panty hose spots?
Actually, aging being what it is, many of your older readers might not remember either...
- KC's View:
