Natalie Aczona, Whole Foods Marketing Supervisor encouraging everyone to eat some highly nutritious kale cabbage!

Whole Foods opened their first store in Hawaii at Kahala Mall on September 10, 2009. It was a major event for the community as mainland chains, for obvious cost reasons, often overlook Hawaii. Claire Sullivan, Community and Vendor Relations Manager and Natalie Aczona, Marketing Supervisor at Whole Foods, look back over the first year and offer a glimpse of the stores future in the islands.

One of the main philosophies of Whole Foods is to promote local vendors. There are many valuable reasons for doing this including: decreasing the carbon footprint, supporting local businesses, keeping people connected with and aware of the food they are eating, and keeping Hawaii green by promoting agriculture. Currently, there are over 205 local producers from all the islands, including fisherman and over Sixty farms sell directly to Whole Foods and of them 28 are on Maui.

Both Sullivan and Aczona’s faces light up when they say that they will soon be selling beef from a local company, Maui Cattle Company. When asked which products are their absolute favorites, without hesitation, Aczona exclaimed, “Ma’o Kale! I eat it everyday. It’s one of the top three aggregate vegetables.” (Which means, it’s super, super healthy.) Sullivan was also thinking and eating locally. She was proud of the local organic broccoli from Robb Farm on the Big Island. Still trying to break the reputation of Whole Foods being expensive, she also mentioned HeartHill wine for $4.99: “an affordable label that tastes great too!”

Whole Foods Body Care section also sells over 35 local products. Aczona exclaimed, “Whole Foods is a wonderful place to shop for local gifts.” Two new products are “Filthy Farm Girl Soap” and “Goats Milk Soap” from Rainbow Ridge Far Organik clothing is another locally-made wear that has soft organic fabrics. Whole Foods carries coffee from Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and the Big Island. They also sell delicious-sounding chocolate from Wailua on Oahu and the Big Island. If you are interested in selling your products at Whole Foods Market, the quality and ingredients must meet their high standards. (Guidelines are on their website.)

What makes Whole Foods stand out above and beyond the small local health food stores and the big chain supermarkets? You might think of it as the perfect combination of the two. As Sullivan stated, “Whole Foods provides everything under one roof, you can come here for all of your shopping: from pantry staples to seafood to body products to wine and cheeses.”

Aczona emphasizes that Whole Foods is not the expensive gourmet shop that you may think it is. Rather, she said, “People still don’t realize that we have great values on all the necessities, we really are not a gourmet food shop. I call it a local, natural food store.” People shop at Whole Foods because they care about what they are putting in their body as well as on their body. According to Aczona, there are affordable ways to be healthy.

As a guide for the 1PM Saturday Value Tours, Aczona knows how to shop smart and encourages others to come and learn how to get the most for their money while eating healthy. Sullivan pointed out that, “Whole Foods runs the full gamut, from the most basic everyday items to the most incredible lavish treats. The Whole Foods 365 brand is a high quality item with an everyday low price.” One of Whole Foods’ goals is to expand the base of the natural food shopper. Basically, the message they are promoting is how to eat right to stay healthy and keep the planet healthy.

Currently, there are over 270 locations in the US, Canada and the UK. Although the Ward Village store ran into some problems and terminated the lease, according to Sullivan, “they were sad to lose the opportunity and are still looking for a possible location in downtown Honolulu.”

Whole Foods is opening a location on Maui in Kahului on February 24th. On Oahu, construction began on February 1st in Kailua for a store slated to open in the fall of 2011 on Kailua Road next to Longs Drugs.

Overall, after one year in Hawaii, Whole Foods continues to grow and contribute to the local community and worldwide. Aczona said simply and powerfully, “I love working for Whole Foods because it helps leave my grand kids a better world.” Sullivan motioned towards the checkouts and exclaimed, “Just looking at our lines, it just amazes me. It is still growing. It is so gratifying to see how well Whole Foods has been received in the local community!” With that said, she set off to work on getting more local vendors represented at Whole Foods in Hawaii.