Brands I Love: Whole Foods

A few days ago, someone twittered the following question: "What brands do you love and why? How far would you go to show your love for those brands: t-shirts, tattoos?" So that got me thinking: what brands do I love.

I love Whole Foods. I love everything about Whole Foods, The food, the smells, the diversity of products, the people, the samples, the beer selection, and much more. I am there almost every saturday morning - usually picking up the same things again and again. I love the hustle and bustle in the store. It feels very Austin to me. And that's great 'coz I love and miss Austin!

I love the paper bags that stay standing in my car trunk on the way home (as compared to my trip to Kroger which usually results in all the groceries all over my trunk on the ride home - in order to prevent that I usually have to spend an additional 5 minutes and tie every plastic bag at the top). 

I also love this drinking water (on right) at Whole Foods. It is easy to pick up and I can hold up to four of these bottles at the same time. Many drinking water bottles don't have an easy pick up mechanism and that means multiple trips from the garage to the refrigerator in the kitchen. But with these bottles in two easy trips I can take eight bottles into the house. No problemo!

A wide variety of fresh organic food. An attempt to purchase food from local farms. Clear labeling of fruits and vegetables so you know where your food comes from.

Did I mention all those samples? I love those. I know it's a trap to get me to buy more. And it works for me. Almost every weekend, I come home w/ some new cheese that was being sampled, a bottle of wine or a 6-pack of beer to go with it. Now if they had some beer sampling - we'd be all set. :)

A trip to a grocery store is usually considered by most (husbands) as a chore. But every saturday morning, as I leave Whole Foods - I feel good. I feel good about myself. I feel as if in some small way, I have done something good. Whether it's true or not is another story, but Whole Foods successfully manages to create that perception. I feel as if I am getting healthier food. I am buying from local producers thus removing the cost of distribution from the environment. I am contributing to the Whole Foods foundations that are helping small and independent producers of food around the world. All of that while my groceries don't get scattered all over my trunk, and I can take the bottled water from the car into the house in two quick short easy trips. I'd say that's a win-win.

Those are a few reasons I love Whole Foods.