Whole Foods, one of the world’s largest organic and natural food retailers, will slash prices on hundreds of items starting Wednesday.
The grocer announced on Monday it will discount hundreds of items in its first major round of price cuts since November 2017, shortly after it was acquired by Amazon, reports The Washington Post. Up to 20 per-cent will be cut on items on produce such as greens, tomatoes and tropical fruits, as well as farmed salmon. Amazon Prime members will also receive an additional 10 per cent off.
“Whole Foods Market continues to maintain the high-quality standards that we’ve championed for almost 40 years and, with Amazon, we will lower more prices in the future, building on the positive momentum from previous price investments”, said Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO John Mackey.
Charlie O’Shea analyst at Moody’s, the American business and financial services company, told CNBC on Tuesday, that Whole Foods price cut was a sign of “cutthroat competitive landscape in food retailing.”
“Amazon’s plans to cut prices on hundreds of products at Whole Foods, as well as offer expanded benefits to its Prime members, recognizes the cutthroat competitive landscape in food retailing, led by Walmart’s relentless push to continue expanding its leading market position in the segment,” said O’Shea.
In 2018, Whole Foods named the Norway-based organic salmon farmers Kvaroy Fiskeoppdrett as one of its favoured suppliers along with farmed and wild salmon US importer Blue Circle Foods. The salmon are fed a BioMar feed called “In the Blue” which is made with microalgae and cleaned fish trimmings and oil.
In 2017, actor Leonardo DiCaprio invested in American seafood producers LoveTheWild, which used Kvaroy Fiskeoppdrett salmon in its products to more than 400 U.S. supermarkets.
