Latest news with #WholeFoods
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
14 Strategic Ways The Role Of Physical Retail Has Changed
The ROI of in-store sales is no longer the only value and metric for physical retail sales. There are so many more roles it plays that go into the entirety of omni-channel sales, brand image creation, and brand experiences. Below are 14 important strategic roles stores play for brands, though the precise impacts of each can be challenging to quantify. A key role stores play is sharing the company's mission and values. Not all retailers take optimal advantage of this opportunity but ones that do it well include Whole Foods, Microsoft and Patagonia. Missions and values can be communicated on walls, packaging, and shopping bags. Patagonia showcases its sustainability mission throughout its stores, through extensive educational signage, descriptions of it's Worn Wear program that sells lightly used clothes, and the furniture and fixtures which have been repurposed from prior lives. 2) Brand Storytelling Brand stories are told through information on walls, boxes, and via digital technology. Stories provide background about the product's inspiration and unique features which all add to the value perception. The Nike House of Innovation store in Manhattan showcases the high- performance technology and materials used in their shoes through displays and videos. Allbirds tells the story of its proprietary natural materials inside their shoes, on packages, and on wall displays. Tom's shoes showcased its one for one giving model through abundant in-store signage, on product labels, on an interactive kiosk, and through an emotional, immersive VR video in a corner of the store that took viewers on a virtual giving trip to a small village in Peru. At Bond perfume stores in NYC, shops are designed to sit clients down and have sales people tell them one-on-one, the brand's inspiration story of how the founder fell in love with New York and developed fragrances to represent each neighborhood. The multi-sensory experience involves spraying scents on absorbent round cards visitors can take home that list all the products and remind them of the fragrances. 3) Omni-channel, Friction Free Support and Integration With Online Nordstrom is one of the best practitioners of omni-channel retail. Like so many retailers, they started to offer BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) and curb-side pick-up during COVID. When they launched their flagship Manhattan store by Columbus Circle in 2018, they simultaneously launched satellite Nordstrom Local storefronts around Manhattan. At Nordstrom Local, consumers can receive packages, examine their purchases, try on clothes they bought, have them tailored by the in-house tailer, have an item gift wrapped, or leave the items to be returned. Customers can purchase Nordstrom products digitally at Nordstrom Local stores 4 different ways: through RFID tags on mannequins, from a large website kiosk screen, from associates who can help them search the Nordstrom site for items they're looking for, or from their own mobile devices. 4) Showrooming & Webrooming Showrooming happens when people go to stores to check out products and then buy them online. Webrooming is the opposite. People look online and then purchase the products in-store. Most direct-to-consumer brands including Casper, Brooklinen, ThirdLove, Naadam, and Warby Parker have found that in markets where they have stores, online sales are at a higher rate. Stores create awareness among passers-by, and those interested the products can check them out in person to be more certain they'll like them before buying. 5) Risk-free Product Sampling & Product Information If I could only afford to do only one thing in my marketing plan and I had a demonstrably better product, it would be some type of free product sampling. Apple stores are the ultimate example. Potential buyers try products risk free and can have features explained to them by in-store personnel. Running stores that have treadmills for buyers to try out their sneakers before buying and Costco's in-store product sampling both increase purchase likelihood either in-store at that time, or later online. 6) Education, Entertainment, Discovery and Creativity A fabulous example of education and discovery is the cigar shop and mini factory Martinez Cigars in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood where workers carefully craft beautiful cigars. It's fascinating to watch them transform piles of loose tobacco leaves by compressing and hand-rolling them into neat, compact cigars. The shop transports customers to Cuba. The wine store, Magatzem Escolà, in Barcelona offers fun vermouth making workshops. Understanding artisanal processes give customers insights into the craftsmanship and care that goes into into making the products. Apple stores encouraged holiday shoppers to make greeting cards with their photos and videos, which seemed like a fun, creative activity. 7) Community Many stores have programs that involve customers in communities, whether it's a knit shop with knitting groups, REI that has lectures and group activities related to sports and travel, Lululemon with in-store or nearby yoga classes, or Nike Run Clubs that meet at Nike stores, all bring people with common interests into their shops, creating the added value of social or health and wellness-related experiences. These retail outlets become a part of their targets' lives, and they encourage repeat store visits. 8) A Lifestyle Place To Hang Out Increasingly, stores are offering places for customers to come and stay a while. Some Santander and Capital One bank branches now have cafés. Louis Vuitton in New York, Zara in Madrid, Printemps in Paris and NYC, and Restoration Hardware in NYC all have bars and/or restaurants that attract new customers, create another reason to visit their stores, and increase dwell time and average spend per visit. 9) Media Channel, Social Content, 'Instagramability' Many retailers invent 'instagramable' items to draw passers-by into their stores to take pictures. When shared on Instagram accounts, the posts create awareness for the stores. The Coach, New York 5th Ave. store has a huge dinosaur made out of assorted handbags, the Puma Manhattan store has a giant sneaker customers stand next to or climb into for photos, and Under Armour in Chicago has a giant has a giant torso customers can take a selfie with. Events like influencer make-up demos at Sephora, or basketball player appearances at the NBA store, or musicians playing at a Harmon Kardon sound system store, all create content for branded social media and newsletters. 10) Experiential To Get People Off The Couch Roca Gallery, is a fabulous store for buying sinks, toilets, bathtubs and showers that creates the analogy of an art gallery, turning their star architect designed stores into highly memorable experiences. In the Barcelona store there was an 11-minute video synchronized around 3 walls of the showroom with water of every type in motion… rivers flowing, ice cracking. Another wall had an engaging ethnographic, floor to ceiling video take on all the ways people use bathrooms (brushing their teeth, putting on make-up, diapering their kids). The experience puts visitors in a water frame of mind and made them feel they're visiting a brand that values elevated water experiences. 11) Customization & personalization Customization and personalization are increasingly being offered by stores, from Nike and Puma where you customize your sneakers, to Lego where you personalize your construction sets, to American Girl Doll where you create dolls that match a child's style and personality, to perfume stores like Olfactory NYC where you customize fragrances. Do it yourself customization becomes more than just a purchase. It's entertainment and an opportunity to express your creativity. 12) E-commerce Fulfillment Last mile e-commerce delivery is expensive for brands, and so are merchandise returns. Retailers like Zara, Walmart and Whole Foods are dedicating parts of their stores to e-commerce fulfillment. Walmart claims that their 4,700 stores are located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population. Using them for e-commerce fulfillment and returns can significantly lower distribution costs. 13) In-store Tech Can Result In Better Purchase Decisions Lego store consumers can place package bar codes next to video monitors to see what each set looks like constructed. Sephora's in-store facial scan monitors help customers quickly experiment with many combinations of make-up and looks. Lowe's VR headset capability enabled customers to visualize an entire bathroom, with a sink, bathtub, floor tiles, and wallpaint colors all together. These devices help customers make better purchase decisions because they can better visualize what they're getting before buying. 14) Retail Media For Better ROI & Customer Targeting Some predict retail media will be the largest media form of all. It's growing at a torid pace, thanks in part to data privacy and 3rd party online cookie tracking going away. Retailers have customer purchase data which is of value to brands. Over the past 10 years, more and more retailers have realized their ability to use this data to help brands reach consumers, and it has become a large new revenue stream. In categories like apparel and groceries, impulse purchase can account for between 50 and 70% of brand sales. Advertising in stores can significantly increase brand awareness and interest. Key Take-Aways The lesson from all these strategic in-store marketing options is that retail has a huge impact on total brand image and sales across all channels and it's therefore critical to think through thoroughly all the ways to maximize customer contact opportunities. Every functional group should be involved… Marketing, Sales Planning, Merchandising, Packaging, Consumer Promotion, Advertising, Social Media, and Marketing Analytics.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Bay Area's latest beer craze: pickles
We find ourselves, in the summer of 2025, in a pickle vortex. Whole Foods is selling pickle kombucha, the New York Times is instructing its readers in making pickle lemonade, and Salt & Straw is churning out pickle sorbet. The publication Inside Hook declared the pickle margarita (another Times recipe) the drink of the summer. One briny beer was made for this moment, literally. 'This couldn't have come at a better time,' said Josh Jancewicz, founder of Donna's Pickle Beer, which recently became available in Northern California. 'We're for sure in a pickle zeitgeist.' Headquartered in Los Angeles and brewed in Milwaukee, Donna's Pickle Beer is growing quickly. When Jancewicz commissioned the first batch in April 2023, it was for about 400 cases. Now he's selling 5,000 to 7,000 cases a month. In the few months that it's been available in the Bay Area, it's built a presence: The beer is available at San Francisco locations of Gus's Community Market and Whole Foods, plus the bars True Laurel and Trick Dog, where Jancewicz used to bartend. (Trick Dog co-founder Scott Baird is a partner in Donna's Pickle Beer.) It's rolling out in Oakland soon. Jancewicz named the beer after his mother, Donna, and put an apocryphal origin story on the back of the cans and the website: Donna was backstage at Madison Square Garden eating pickles from a jar when Mick Jagger pulled her onstage and kissed her with a mouth full of beer. Don't believe it. The truth is that Jancewicz was working as a mail carrier in Hollywood during the pandemic and felt 'pretty desperate to not do that job anymore,' he said. As he was casting about for entrepreneurial ideas, he tasted a pickle-laced beer from a Texas brewery and thought it 'didn't taste good and didn't look cool.' He figured he could do it better. He started with the design, sketching out a nostalgic-feeling, green-and-white logo that looked like it could have been the sign for a 1970s Midwestern dive bar. 'I just knew that it needed to look like it had always been around,' said Jancewicz. He wanted people to see it on a shelf and think, 'How have I never noticed it?' Then he needed someone to produce it for him. The first 20 breweries that he contacted gave him a resounding 'no.' Finally he found Pilot Project in Milwaukee, an incubator for startup brewers. The team there dialed in the recipe according to Jancewicz's specification that it taste 'like you poured your favorite pickle brine into a beer.' The base is a simple lager (Jancewicz wanted 'something with no flavor, that people could drink two, three, four of'), with a proprietary brine. No cucumbers are harmed in the process: To avoid creating excessive vegetable waste, they make the brine with an organic cucumber essence. The result is not shy. Donna's is unapologetically pickley, heavy on the vinegar and the dill. If you're a pickle person — apparently we're all pickle people now — you'll probably find it delicious. It's priced in line with standard craft beer, about $12.99-$13.99 for a six-pack in stores, or about $6-$7 per can in a bar. Although the Donna's Pickle Beer company is still a workforce of one — just Jancewicz, who kept a day job until three months ago — the founder has big aspirations for the brand. (Donna comes along for occasional promotional events, as a volunteer.) He's trying to raise funding from friends and family, and hopes to secure venture capital eventually. Jancewicz has spinoff products in mind like canned micheladas, shandys and, he noted excitedly, actual pickles: 'Hopefully I have a nice little pickle factory in the Midwest someday.'
New York Post
2 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Gluten-free pasta just got a glow-up thanks to Banza's new line
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change. Banza, the better-for-you food company best known for putting chickpea pasta on the map, is expanding its pasta portfolio for the first time with the launch of Brown Rice Pasta, now available at Whole Foods nationwide. The new line, which blends brown rice with Banza's signature chickpeas, is designed to check the two most elusive boxes for gluten-free eaters: crave-worthy flavor and next-day durability. The company says this launch addresses a long-standing consumer pain point in the gluten-free aisle. 'As someone who is gluten-free, I understand the desire for a gluten-free pasta that feels as close to normal as possible,' said Banza CEO and co-founder Brian Rudolph. 'Our new brown rice pasta holds up the next day, even in soup.' While Banza's original chickpea pasta remains the nutrient-dense standout, the new blend leans texture-first while still reinforcing Banza's bean-forward mission. Banza Banza Chickpea Pasta is the O.G. that made the brand a household name — and for good reason. Made with just chickpeas, tapioca, pea protein, and xanthan gum, it delivers nearly double the protein and triple the fiber of traditional pasta, all while staying satisfyingly al dente. It's naturally gluten-free, non-GMO, and cooks up in just a few minutes, making it a weeknight hero for anyone who wants a better-for-you bowl without sacrificing texture or taste. Advertisement Made in Italy and available in four classic shapes — penne, rotini, elbows, and spaghetti — Banza Brown Rice Pasta is certified gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan, kosher, and free of the top 9 allergens. It's also the first pasta in the U.S. to carry a CleanScan certification from The Detox Project, confirming lab-tested non-detectable levels of over 400 pesticides. Consumers can access the results by scanning a QR code on the front of each box. The product is now available in-store and online at Whole Foods for $3.99 per box, with multi-packs on for $29.99. Additional rollouts are planned for this fall at Sprouts, Target, Thrive Market, Amazon Fresh, and Wegmans. With this launch, Banza is betting that flavor-forward functionality — and a little chickpea magic — will raise the bar for gluten-free staples once again. This article was written by Kendall Cornish, New York Post Commerce Editor & Reporter. Kendall, who moonlights as a private chef in the Hamptons for New York elites, lends her expertise to testing and recommending cooking products – for beginners and aspiring sous chefs alike. Simmering and seasoning her way through both jobs, Kendall dishes on everything from the best cookware for your kitchen to cooking classes that will level-up your skills to new dinnerware to upgrade your holiday hosting. Prior to joining the Post's shopping team in 2023, Kendall previously held positions at Apartment Therapy and at Dotdash Meredith's Travel + Leisure and Departures magazines.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Brace for the Most Expensive Coffee Yet, as Trump's Tariffs Mix With the Climate Crisis
Eight years ago, when Debbie Wei Mullin founded her company Copper Cow, she wanted to bring Vietnamese coffee into the mainstream. Vietnam, the world's second-largest exporter of coffee, is known for growing robusta beans. Earthier and more bitter than the arabica beans grown in Brazil, Colombia, and other coffee-growing regions near the Equator, robusta beans are often thought of as producing lower-quality coffee. In an effort to rebrand robusta, Mullin signed deals with coffee farming cooperatives in Vietnam and created smooth blends. Over the years, she helped a cohort of farmers convert their operations to organic. 'We put in huge investments and were certified as the first organic specialty-grade coffee farms ever in Vietnam,' said the CEO and founder. In a few weeks, Copper Cow is planning to launch its first line of organic coffee at Whole Foods and Target. But the second Trump administration has changed the calculus of her business. Mullin said she 'was bullish' about her company's prospects when President Donald Trump first took office, believing that Vietnam would likely be exempt from exorbitant tariffs since the president has many supporters in the coastal Southeast Asian country. Then, in April of this year, the White House announced a 46 percent tariff on goods from Vietnam. The shock left Mullin rethinking the very thesis she had set out to prove. 'A big part of our mission is about how robusta beans, when treated better, can provide this really great cup of coffee at a lower price,' she said. 'Once you put a 46 percent tariff on there, does this business model work anymore?' Trump soon paused his country-specific tariffs for a few months, replacing them with a near-universal 10 percent tax. This month, Trump announced on social media that he would lower Vietnam's eventual tariff from 46 to 20 percent—a sharp price hike that still worries Mullin. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened to impose an astounding 50 percent tariff on goods from Brazil, the nation's largest importer of coffee, starting August 1. 'I joke with my partner that I feel like I'm in a macroeconomics class,' said Mullin. In lieu of raising its prices, Copper Cow, which sells directly to consumers as well as to retailers, has scrambled to cut costs by reconsidering its quarterly team get-togethers and slowing down its timeline for helping more farmers go organic. The price of coffee hit an all-time high earlier this year, a dramatic rise due in part to ongoing climate-fueled droughts in the global coffee belt. As the U.S. considers fueling a trade war with coffee-producing countries, 'it just feels like such an insult to an injury,' said Mullin. 'It's like, let's have an earthquake hit a place that is in the middle of a hurricane.' Economists like to say that demand for coffee is relatively inelastic—drinkers are so attached to their daily caffeine fix that they keep buying it even when prices increase. As the Trump administration mounts its retaliatory trade agenda, that theory will be put to the test. Coffee growers, as well as the roasters and sellers that purchase [from] them in the U.S., are now facing unforeseen geopolitical and economic challenges. 'We have not seen tariffs of this magnitude before,' said David Ortega, a professor of food and economics policy at Michigan State University. 'There's no playbook for this.' Should Trump's threatened tariffs go into effect next month, it will likely hurt consumers, as many businesses will pass on the costs by raising prices. But it could also have ripple effects on coffee farms, as companies may cut costs by pulling back on investments in environmentally conscientious practices like organic or regenerative agriculture. 'Our goal was always to slowly convert the rest of our products to certified organic,' said Mullin. 'And we feel like that is not an option anymore because of the tariffs.' Even if the tariffs do not go into effect in August, the ongoing economic uncertainty will likely impact coffee growers in Brazil, which provided 35 percent of America's unroasted coffee supply as of 2023. As U.S. coffee companies navigate the Trump administration's evolving trade policies, they are likely to seek out new, cheaper markets for coffee beans. 'Suddenly, they become less attached to where they source their coffee from,' said João Brites, director of growth and innovation at HowGood, a data platform that helps food companies measure and reduce carbon emissions along their supply chain. The problem with that, according to Ortega, is that other countries in the coffee belt, such as Colombia, do not have the production capacity to match Brazil's and meet U.S. demand for coffee. If the threat of punitive tariffs on Brazil kickstarts an increase in demand for coffee from other countries, that will likely raise prices. For coffee drinkers, 'there are very few substitutes,' said Ortega. These pressures on coffee farmers and buyers are coming after a period of worsening climate impacts. A majority of coffee grown in Brazil—about 60 percent—comes from smallholder farms, grown on about 25 or fewer acres of land. 'The current reality they're operating in is that they're already very stretched,' particularly because of weather disruptions, said Brites. Coffee grows best in tropical climates, but in recent years unprecedented droughts in Brazil have stunted growers' yields, forcing exporters to dip into and almost deplete their coffee reserves. Vietnam has been rocked by drought and heat waves—and though robusta beans need less water to grow than arabica beans, making them a relatively climate-resilient crop, growers have also seen their yields decline. (Mullin said she is seeing early signs of harvests rebounding this year.) Brites speculated that U.S. companies buying from smallholder farms in Brazil may be able to pressure growers into selling their beans at lower prices, adding to the economic precarity that these growers face. 'For a lot of these coffee growers, the U.S. is such a big market,' he said, adding that it would take time for them to find new buyers in other markets. Growers themselves are worried. Mariana Veloso, a Brazilian coffee producer and exporter, said producers are facing logistical challenges—and anticipating more. 'If we want to ship a coffee in the next month, we will probably not be able to,' said Veloso, remarking that sometimes cargo ships holding coffee sit at Brazilian ports for weeks before setting out. Shipping companies seem to be delaying shipments from Brazil, said Veloso, perhaps in anticipation of the looming tariffs. In the U.S., not every coffee company sources from Brazil or Vietnam. But the Trump administration's existing 10 percent across-the-board tariffs are still rattling the coffee business. 'We source coffees from all around the world. So we're not immune to anything,' said Kevin Hartley, founder and CEO of Cambio Roasters, an aluminum K-cup coffee brand. He added, 'You know, 10 percent here and 30 percent there, that's not trivial.' Hartley added that one of the impacts of droughts on coffee growers is that younger farmers worried about the future are considering leaving the business. 'In coffee farming families around the world, it's a tough life, and the current generation is showing reticence to take off where their parents began,' he said. Regardless of whether the U.S. imposes prohibitive tariffs on individual coffee-growing countries, climate change is already taking a toll on this workforce. 'Everyone's looking for a solution for this,' said Mullin, who believes robusta beans can offer a drought-resistant alternative to the ever-popular arabica beans. Copper Cow has even started experimenting with a lesser-known varietal of coffee beans called liberica, which requires even less water to grow than robusta beans. 'And it's delicious,' Mullin said. It's an extremely labor-intensive crop because the coffee plant grows so tall, but one of the farmer cooperatives she works with is starting to plant them now, thinking the investment will be worth it as temperatures keep rising. This new era of environmental, economic, and geopolitical challenges has shaken coffee brands. 'Everybody's wondering, in 50 years, will there be much coffee anymore? People are trying to be really realistic about what that world is going to look like,' said Mullin. In the midst of that broader uncertainty, the impact of Trump's tariffs is another question only time can answer. This article originally appeared in Grist at Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
This pasta has TWO times the protein, no gluten and Tom Brady's seal of approval - and it's already going viral
Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more What if we told you that eating pasta could actually be healthy? It is no secret that carbs are a guilty pleasure for all of us, especially pasta. If you are like me, you may find yourself eating Alfredo much more often than you should be (make that every day). That is where Banza swoops in to save the day. Banza, the brand that has taken the U.S. by storm as the first-ever Chickpea Pasta available in stores, is actually good for you. The superfood-forward brand harnessed the power of chickpeas to create a pasta 'dupe' that feels, looks, and tastes the same as average whole wheat pasta. The viral pasta-loving brand has caught the attention of several celebrities and athletes, including football legend Tom Brady. If you want to turn your health around without sacrificing your Alfredo, Banza is the way to do it — and they just released a brand new chickpea enhanced Brown Rice Pasta. Brown rice pasta typically is an alternative for anyone who stays away from gluten. It is high in fiber and has a neutral taste making it a delicious sneaky alternative to typical pasta! Banza's new Brown Rice Pasta line features four types, including Penne, Rotini, Elbows, and Spaghetti. All of the pasta is derived from chickpeas and a gluten-free brown rice formula. Each box contains generous amounts of protein and if cooked correctly the texture is nearly identical to regular wheat pasta. Chickpea Pasta is the ultimate alternative, with powerful protein and a carefully crafted consistency. We know you may be hesitant to dive into the world of Chickpea Pasta, but hear us out. Banza looks, feels, and tastes the same as a regular box of pasta, but instead of empty calories, it fuels your body and brain. Plus, the Brown Rice options are gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan, kosher and free of the top nine allergens. The recipes are endless! Whether you want to whip up a baked ziti or recreate your Grandma's famous mac & cheese, Banza's new pasta seamlessly works. If you need help getting inspired, you can explore the Banza Instagram account for exclusive recipes and community praise! Ditch the old way of eating pasta and try out Banza's new Brown Rice options now for only $3.99 a box. Explore everything online or in select retailer stores, including Whole Foods and Target.
