Whole Foods to open urban c-store brand

Dive Brief:

Whole Foods Market announced Monday it is debuting a new small-format store aimed at providing urban neighborhood residents with a quick, convenient shopping experience.
The first Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will launch in New York City and the specialty grocer plans to bring the format to other cities across the country.
The new store concept builds on Amazon’s efforts to rationalize its brick-and-mortar portfolio and revive its grocery business after beginning to revamp Amazon Fresh locations last summer.

Dive Insight:

Whole Foods Market has been successful in urban markets across the country. Now, it’s trying to deepen that strength with a hybrid convenience and grocery store that offers a selection of groceries and grab-and-go selections.

Whole Foods Market Daily Shops will range between 7,000 and 14,000 square feet, about a quarter to half the size of Whole Foods’ traditional 40,000-square-foot stores. The new concept will offer grab-and-go meal and snack options as well as grocery essentials, according to an emailed press release.

The smaller locations will also house produce, meat and seafood, bread, alcohol, supplements, local products and Whole Foods’ 365 private brand products. The Manhattan location opening this year will also offer Juice & Java coffee, tea, fresh pressed juices, sandwiches, soups and desserts.

Whole Foods Daily Market digital rendering of Java & Juice offering — Courtesy of Whole Foods Market

The first small-format location is slated to open later this year on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at 1175 Third Ave. Whole Foods noted that these new format locations will not replace the grocer’s traditional store format. Bloomberg reported the specialty grocer has signed five New York City leases for the concept.

Whole Foods Market Daily Shops will also be equipped with Amazon One, Amazon’s palm payment service, at self-checkout kiosks as well as at traditional checkout counters, a spokesperson for the grocer confirmed via email.

Whole Foods previously unveiled a small-store concept with the lower-priced 365 store format in 2015. While it looked like it would continue to expand the concept after the Amazon acquisition in 2017, the grocer shuttered the format in early 2019.

C-store retailers have had mixed success operating in urban markets. Foxtrot Market has expanded quickly in places like Dallas and Chicago, but companies like Kum & Go, Sheetz and Wawa have had to close urban locations recently.

Amazon is picking up momentum with its grocery business. In August, the company announced significant changes to Amazon Fresh, including a new store format and expanded online access.