Hannah Dion, Yvonne Dygon, Austin Urkiel, Vinnie Virga

OverviewAbout Us Research Objectives Research Methods Literature ReviewFocus GroupHypotheses & Conclusions Limitations & Future Research

About Whole Foods“We seek out the finest natural and organic

foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an

unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture. Add to that the excitement and fun we bring to shopping for groceries, and you start to get a sense of what we’re all about. Oh yeah, we’re a mission-driven

company too.”

Whole Foods Sells...“—A BEAUTIFUL, WORTHY AND ANCIENT PRODUCT—SO THAT WE CAN PLANT TREES AND ENCOURAGE KIDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL. ONE BY ONE, WE TRY TO

EXPAND WHAT’S POSSIBLE FOR

INDIVIDUALS, THEN FOR NEIGHBORHOODS.”

Research ObjectivesWhole Foods has been expanding quickly, but should they invest in locations near college campuses? Are college students concerned with price or quality?

Research Method1. Exploratory Research and Literature

Review2. Qualitative Research

Focus Groups (6 participants)3. Quantitative Research

Surveys (60 respondents)

Literature Review● “Full-time college students, on average, allocate more of their meals to off-campus dining during a typical week.”

(Mintel 2015).● Specifically, students are interested in eating higher quality foods, and much of those quality attributes are driven

more by the unique food preparations and flavor profiles than the healthfulness of the ingredients themselves” (Hartman Group, 2008). Essentially, they found a threat to many food brands: finding unique and higher quality foods rather than coming out with healthier versions of the same old food. The Hartman Group also found that “...[O]ne of the chief factors driving the ‘high quality’ belief is the perception that the food in question is not manufactured by a large food company”(Hartman Group, 2008).

● Students would indeed pay “up to 10 percent more” for healthier options on-campus. (Newman, 2013)

● “What’s more, Whole Foods’ central conceit as a company is that it sells only the best, healthiest food—which sometimes requires paying more.” (ie: McMillan 2014).

● “[m]ost college students don’t have the free time to create home-cooked meals on a regular basis, let alone the appliances and space to make that happen” (Student Watch: Behavior and Trends of Student Consumers, 2011).

Qualitative Data

HypothesesH1: Students Prefer Price over Quality

H2: Females will have a more favorable attitude towards Whole Foods than males.

H1: Price vs QualityThe significance(two-tailed) is .008, (less than .05) therefore we can support that quality is statistically different than price.

When comparing the means, price μ=6.00, and quality μ=5.55, we can be statistically confident that Price is preferred

H2: Female vs Male Attitude The P-value for this is 0.864 (which is more than 0.05) therefore our hypothesis cannot be supported. There is no difference between male and female attitudes towards Whole Foods by comparing the means of the two genders.

Descriptive Stat. ResultsBEST PRICES %

Stop and Shop 10%

Whole Foods 2%

Big Y 5%

Super Target 22%

Walmart Superstores 53%

Cosco/ BJ's 27%

Aldi's 26%

Trader Joe's 9%

Dollar Tree/ Dollar General/ Family Dollar 26%

Price Chopper/ Sav-A-Lot/ Price Rite 17%

CVS/ Walgreens/ RiteAid 6%

BEST QUALITY %

Stop & Shop 17%

Big Y 22%

Whole Foods 68%

Super Target 20%

Walmart Superstore 5%

Cosco/BJ's 18%

Aldi's 2%

Trader Joe's 46%

Dollar Tree/Dollar General/Family Dollar 0%

Price Chopper/Save-A-Lot/Price Rite 2%

CVS/Walgreens/RiteAid 0%

Descriptive Stat. Results

Location was a top response: 67% of respondents said that there is not a Whole Foods within 10 miles

We asked why people do not shop at Whole Foods:

● Many respondents complained that Whole Foods was too Expensive

ImplicationsMarketing plans would not need to be

gender specific when advertising to students, as males and females both currently have the same perceptions of Whole Foods

Perhaps targeting college campuses for nearby Whole Foods locations is not a good idea, unless we lower our prices, or offer discounts

Exception: Locate Whole Foods on local bus routes, to maximize convenience for students

Limitations

Budget“Value” misperception

Gender distribution

Scope of survey takers

Survey size 38% dropout rate

Future

Focus Groups: Offer word association to stimulate discussion of area grocery stores

Mention Whole Foods specificallyWalk around campus to distribute surveysCLV of college students

Questions?Questions?

Thank you!

ReferencesDurham, N. (2015, January 16). Student life: Eating healthy on a budget. Retrieved February 5, 2015, from

http://www.colorado.edu/news/features/student-life-eating-healthy-budget

Food Trends of College Students. (2008, April 16). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from

http://www.hartman-group.com/hartbeat/food-trends-of-college-students

McMillan, T. (2014, November 19). What Happened When Whole Foods Tried to Challenge Elitism,

Racism,

and Obesity in Detroit. Retrieved February 5, 2015, from

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2014/11/

whole_foods_detroit_can_a_grocery_story_really_fight_elitism_racism_and.html

ReferencesMintel. (2015). Colleges and Universities Foodservice – US – May 2014. Retrieved from Mintel Oxygen

database

Mission & Values. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values

Newman, J. (2013, December 12). Survey Shows Students Want Better Quality Food. Retrieved

February 5, 2015, from http://oracle.newpaltz.edu/survey-shows-students-want-better-quality-food/

Student Watch: Behavior and Trends of Student Consumers. (2011). Retrieved February 9, 2015,

from http://www.nacs.org/email/html/OnCampusResearch/SPR-080-03-12_Client Newsletter.pdf

Whole Foods Market. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/