Can Whole Foods Live Up to Its Own Hype? ; Europe’s Biggest ‘Organic Supermarket’ Opens in London Tomorrow. But is Whole Foods Good Value? Will It Source Locally? And Will We Swallow Bravura US ‘Eco-Retailing’? Asks Lucy Mayhew

WELL, it comes to something when the opening of a food shop is celebrated with the pizzazz of Harry Potter film premiere.

But Whole Foods Market (WFM), which celebrated its introduction to London last night, is no bog-standard grocer.

The US health food behemoth

which owns Fresh and Wild

opens its first European shop to the public tomorrow in the former home of Barkers in Kensington High Street.

About 2,000 people were invited to its party. That doesn’t happen when a new Tesco or Waitrose appears. But WFM wants to do more than just fill your fridge.

It hopes to revolutionise our attitudes to buying food and drink.

It’s not simply the scale of the enterprise

80,000sq ft, 10,000 products and 500 staff

but also the idea that if you give yourself to the WFM philosophy, you will be far happier, far healthier and far more knowledgeable about your body. The shop is even pioneering “personal nutritionists” to advise on what to put in your trolley.

“Feeling stressed, sir? Incan berries.

Run down? It’s frozen bee pollen for you.” WFM represents the American Dream of nutritional retailing. Founded in 1980 it touts itself as an organic, eco-friendly, morally superior supermarket. Its detractors, and there are quite a few, say this is impossible because operating on such a vast scale, you cannot be environmentally friendly. Selling itself as an independent local store that happens to be massive is, say some, just a cynical ploy; WFM is as greedy as Tesco, just better at marketing.

Whatever your opinion, London has never seen a food shop like this. “It’s an overwhelming sensory experience,” it claims. And it’s right.

There are almost 100 different olive oils (with a “tasting station”), a temperature-controlled cheese room, 1,000 wines, “mix your own bars” for granola, lentils, nuts and pulses, 40 breads, 50 freshly squeezed juices, 24 freshly brewed coffees, a 30m-long “dairy case” and 40 different types of sausages made on the premises. A huge “food mall” has an oyster bar, pizzeria, ice-cream parlour, sushi bar and organic pub.

There’s even a florist, organic fashion, a Whole Body nutritional area and a supplements section. One row, not far from a “1950-style American candy store” is devoted to weight- loss pills. The “artists” who create the handwritten signage are housed in a glass cube so you can see them at work. Oh, and you can make your own ground brazil-nut butter.

At last.

If you want to try any of the impossibly shiny fresh fruit, a “team member” slices you off a chunk. “We feel the British must learn to embrace food like we do at home,” said a spokesman, with an irony almost more delicious than any of Pounds 5 bars of chocolate on sale.

This may well be Charlie’s Chocolate Factory for ethical gourmands but just how deep-set are its values? The slogans talk of the “traceability” of food, the “compassionate treatment of animals”, the “relationships with farmers”, there are “no trans fats, no artificial flavours and no preservatives”. It has cleverly got into bed with the respected Soil Association which fosters relations between producers and consumers. This is all worthy but London’s Pounds 1 billion organic food market is the most competitive in Europe, and Waitrose and MS are increasing their eco- ethical-organic fare. Emma Latham, marketing manager for the new store, squirmed when pressed for answers on the competitiveness of its pricing. Explainingthe idea of themed personal shopping trips on “nutrition for more energy”, “diabetic-cuisine” and the “cost- conscious family shop”, she refused to be drawn on how much the “budgetshop” trip would cost but reluctantly conceded that “where relevant, prices would not exceed Waitrose” (see the panel, top right, for some price comparisons).

For a company whose philosophy is to communicate often, openly and compassionately, it is very reticent. While “immensely proud” of its support for to UK farmers and suppliers, it couldn’t reveal how many it worked with nor what percentage of its produce is organic.

London shoppers are likely to be more inquisitive, and cynical, than most. So WFM has created a “Q station” where they can find out the origins of any item..

When I ask about “locally sourced” food, there is confusion. The company is committed to it, they say, but whether it’s from producers 20 miles away, or, as its US website says, from suppliers seven hours away, no one will answer. A fruit and veg buyer tells me WFM has about 30 UK suppliers and, depending on season, between 30 and 50 per cent of the fruit and veg will be from the UK.

“This caginess is typical ,” says a former team member at Bristol’s WFM Fresh Wild store. “It’s embarrassed by how much produce comes from abroad and you’re trained what to tell customers to preserve Whole Foods’ reputation.” The confusion doesn’t end there. During tastings in the run-up to opening one local resident reported: “I was given a glass of a Sauvignon Blanc but the American assistant could only say it was a blend of wines.” The oyster bar assistant had no idea where the oysters came from.

But there’s nowhere in London with a more extensive supplement and natural beauty section. WFM supports a different charity each month, all packaging generated is recycled, all electricity sourced from green supplier Ecotricity and fresh produce waste kept to a minimum by using unsold items for soups and meals.

What about getting your shopping home? A green-fuelled home- delivery service is meant to start in six months. In the meantime, if you don’t have a chauffeurdriven Prius, WFM will hold your shopping so you can return with your car after the congestion charge finishes.

On leaving, last night’s partygoers were given organic chamomile tea, rice cakes, and something called Larabar

a chocolate and coconut chew. All in a fashionable re-useable, cloth grocery bag. Will it become the bag to be seen around town and will we take the Whole Foods ethos to their hearts? We shall see..

THEWHOLE FOODS PRICE COMPARISON (WHOLE FOODS, WAITROSE, TESCO) Organic mango 99p Pounds 1.69 Pounds 1.29 Organic cantaloupe Pounds 1.49 Pounds 1.99 Pounds 1.29 Organic carrots Pounds 1.79/kg Pounds 1.19/750g 89p/750g English asparagus Pounds 1.49/250g Pounds 2.69/ 250g Pounds 2.49/250g Organic avocados 89p each 99p 99p English strawberries Pounds 3 for 2 punnets Pounds 1.99/225g Pounds 1.89 a punnet Roasted almonds Pounds 5.99/kg Pounds 1.99/150g Pounds 1.89/ 175g Yorkshire tea bags 99p/40 Pounds 1.74/80 Pounds 1.74/80 Tin of tuna 99p Pounds 1.15 88p/400g Organic chicken Pounds 6.59/kg Pounds 5.69/kg Pounds 4.23/kg Bottle chablis Pounds 5.99 Pounds 6.66 Pounds 5.98 Swiss-style muesli Pounds 1.59/500mg Pounds 1.25/750g 74p/ 750g Kettle crisps Pounds 1.69/150g Pounds 1.29/150g 98p/150g Organic bread flour Pounds 1.49/2kg Pounds 1.15/1.5kg 79p/1kg Organic baked beans 69p 55p 54p Green Blacks chocolate Pounds 2.99/150g Pounds 1.55/200g Pounds 1.98/150g Ben Jerry’s ice cream Pounds 3.99 Pounds 3.79 Pounds 3.98/tub Tin of tomatoes 99p/400g 79p/400g 45p/400g Heinz tomato soup 99p 81p 89p Organic virgin olive oil Pounds 3.99/ 500ml Pounds 4.39/500ml Pounds 2.68/500ml Balsamic vinegar Pounds 2.99/500ml Pounds 5.45/250ml Pounds 2.09/250ml Organic penne 79p/ 500g Pounds 1.09/500g 99p/500g Soya milk 99p/1 litre 95p/litre 94p/ litre Organic jam Pounds 1.59/340g Pounds 1.59/340g Pounds 1.14/ 340g Marmite Pounds 3.29/250g Pounds 2.18/250g Pounds 2.18/250g Italian organic coffee Pounds 3.39/250g Pounds 2.29 /227g Pounds 1.69/227g

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