Environmental Indoctrination
Search the Whole Foods website a little and you’ll find a detailed listing of the company’s core values. Passion for food and high quality standards (freshness, taste, nutritive value, and even appearance) are Whole Foods’ main claim to fame. This foodie fanaticism can be easily found in the layout of the homepage, which connects the dots between a consumer’s ingredients list and the gourmet meal that will result from his or her efforts slaving over an anondized-aluminum saucepan. Instead of resembling the front leaflet of a supermarket circular, the homepage showcases a revolving gallery of meticulously prepared repasts that have been professionally styled and photographed.

An ample recipes section also celebrates the store’s epicurean leanings: There are basic recipes in every major cookbook category (appetizers, soups and stews, desserts, etc.), as well as creative options for kids and vegetarians, and even great meals that serve four people that cost less than US$ 15 to prepare. The edible elements for said recipes (i.e., the store’s inventory) are neatly broken out into their appropriate departments, with detailed descriptions of the products that explain how they adhere to Whole Foods’ strict quality guidelines.

Community citizenship is also a hallmark of the Whole Foods’ philosophy, and this evangelism continues online. Many of the stores participate in what’s called Our Community 5% Days, where on designated days five percent of the day’s profits are donated to local nonprofits. A drop-down menu on the site allows viewers to find what the nearest Whole Foods market is doing in the way of charitable community aid.

The company’s devotion to social and environmental “stewardship,” as it’s called here, is reinforced in the site’s Issues section, where positions on key environmental and community topics are spelled out. There’s a whole area dedicated to animal welfare (where you’ll be introduced to the Animal Compassion Foundation, among other organizations). A slew of fact sheets highlights the ABCs of organics and genetically engineered foods, as well as the company’s support of seafood sustainability (finding fresh fare from the sea using ocean-friendly methods). The Green Action section offers online resources for assisting in planetary renewal efforts, as well as helpful articles on how to “green up your life” and a blog that lets team members post their own tips and tricks.

Not Your Average Joe Competition
In sharp contrast to Whole Foods’ sophisticated online aura, competitor Trader Joe’s site carefully extends the same “aw-shucks” image of the friendly neighborhood grocery store that it maintains offline. The site is sprinkled with icons that represent a more laid-back lifestyle: A tropical theme complete with surfboards and lei-beladen lasses populate the site, an extension of the Hawaiian shirt-clad staff and cedar-planked walls you’ll find in TJ’s brick-and-mortar locations.

On the Whole Foods site, you’ll find eloquent missives such as “We believe in a virtuous circle entwining the food chain, human beings and Mother Earth: each is reliant upon the others through a beautiful and delicate symbiosis.” Trader Joe’s site, on the other hand, greets customers on the home page with a giant “Aloha!” and goes on to proclaim that “Our Products Rock!” The Joe’s store locator will playfully ask “Where the heck are you?” before asking you to pinpoint your location on a US map, while the Whole Foods locator simply directs you to enter in your zip code to find a store near you. There’s also the issue of financial virility.

Holding tight to one of its core values of “creating wealth through profits and growth,” the Whole Foods site salivates as much over its money-making potential as it does over its edible inventory: Its “Declaration of Interdependence” is a capitalist ode to its stakeholders, who can also stay in the financial know through the site’s extensive “Investor Relations” section, offering annual reports, SEC reports, proxy statements, and stock quotes. In contrast, the Trader Joe’s site rejects any urbane overtures, quietly noting that its frugality and privately owned status allow it to pass down the best values to the customers—the company is proud that there are “no corporate jets or fancy offices,” and note that the CEO doesn’t even have a secretary.

The sheer amount of information on the Whole Foods site regarding the all-natural lifestyle may be a bit overwhelming—you could be driven to rebel at the nearest fast-food drive-through, indulging in all the processed, repurposed fare your Styrofoam container can handle. Or the site’s sophisticated melding of all things environmental and edible could result in exactly what the organic giant is hoping for: You’ll go green at your local Whole Foods outlet—while the brand benefits from extra green of another kind.