Businessweek

Whole Foods Market, Inc. engages in retailing natural and organic foods in the United States. As of September 30, 2012, the company operated 335 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Products The company’s product selection includes produce, grocery, meat and poultry, seafood, bakery, prepared foods and catering, specialty (beer, wine and cheese), coffee and tea, nutritional supplements, vitamins, body care, educational products, such as books, floral items, pet products and household products. Its stores carry on average approximately 21,000 SKUs. The company has store-made and regionally made fresh items sold under the Whole Foods Market label, and offers specialty and organic coffee, tea and drinking chocolates through its Allegro Coffee Company subsidiary. Suppliers The company’s major supplier includes United Natural Foods, Inc. Seasonality The company’s average weekly sales and gross profit are highest in the second and third quarters and lowest in the fourth quarter. Average weekly sales and gross profit are lower in the first quarter due to the product mix of holiday sales, and in the fourth quarter due to the seasonally slower sales during the summer months. Regulation The manufacturing, processing, formulating, packaging, labeling and advertising of products are subject to regulation by various federal agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. The composition and labeling of nutritional supplements are most actively regulated by the FDA under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDC Act). Trademarks Trademarks owned by the Company or its subsidiaries include ‘Whole Foods Market,’ the ‘Whole Foods Market’ logo, ‘365 Everyday Value,’ the ‘365 Everyday Value’ logo, ‘AFA,’ ‘Allegro Coffee Company,’ ‘America’s Healthiest Grocery Store,’ ‘ANDI,’ ‘Bread & Circus,’ ‘Capers Community Market,’ ‘Dark Rye,’ ‘Eco-Scale,’ ‘Fresh & Wild,’ ‘Fresh Fields,’ ‘Grab & Give,’ ‘Green Mission,’ ‘Harry’s Farmers Market,’ ‘Health Starts Here,’ ‘Ideal Market,’ ‘Merchant of Vino,’ ‘Mrs. Gooch’s,’ ‘Vine Buys,’ ‘Wellspring,’ ‘Whole Baby,’ ‘The Whole Deal,’ ‘Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet,’ ‘Whole Kids,’ ‘Whole Kids Foundation,’ ‘Whole Kids Organic,’ ‘Whole Planet Foundation,’ and ‘Whole Trade.’ In addition, the company licenses certain trademarks, including ‘PLANT-STRONG,’ a trademark owned by Engine 2 for Life, LLC. History Whole Foods Market, Inc. was founded in 1978.