By: Stephen Cauldry
Submitted: 2010-05-10 11:48:28 | Word Count: 877
Whole Foods opened a two-storey outlet in Pasadena early November, which was also deemed as the largest outlet west of the Rocky Mountains. With that in mind, Tesco also rolled out its Fresh & Easy brand by doing six Southern California openings which was followed by 75 more openings in 2008.
What separates gourmet from traditional
[ advertisement ]
You'll find that what separates a grocery gourmet store from traditional Albertsons or Ralph's is yet to be seen by consumers; the issue tends to become a little bit more about branding and lifestyle concept than it does about any form of health or organic label that we tend to attach to what we put in our mouths.
You will also find that the Whole Foods store in Pasadena not only carries traditional food found at any other Whole Food branch but along with a massage room, wine lounge and fresh jam and jelly counter. You may think it's a bit farfetched to have a massage room in a grocery store but the decision to offer such a service is symbolic of the direction where these new generations of grocery stores are taking the public.
The direction
With that in mind, the direction is headed more towards an actual brand – not to mention it's a luxurious brand to boot. You can find a lot of jams in traditional grocery stores but you'll find it more appealing by getting it fresh at the counter; this is new and something we don't normally do and Whole Foods is banking on this idea to get a lot of customers hooked. The Pasadena store also had a seafood counter which served cerviche and shrimp cocktail; anyone can buy shrimp at a local grocery store and cooking the cocktail themselves but the newer generations are selling it more conveniently with a shinier package.
What Tesco and other markets have in store
Tesco also sold its own stamp of luxurious grocery experience by selling people the idea of convenience and fresh in its express Fresh & Easy stores. The Arizona based Farmer's Market also opened a store in Irvine with two more planned in Seal Beach and Tustin. Again, the concept is still fresh and inherently healthier and better as opposed to what we regularly see in traditional grocery stores.
Believe it or not, traditional grocery stores aren't entirely threatened by the new generation grocery gourmet stores since they rely on people caring where they buy their stuff. In fact, you can hardly find any customer loyalty in major grocery outlets and as consumers all we want is convenience, right? No one and I mean no one, views a grocery store the same way they view a shopping mall.
The big question
The big question here is whether or not the idea of ORGANIC and FRESH can really win over customers; since it's no different from buying branded jeans to non-branded jeans. It all boils down to how brainwashed a customer in believing the brand than a careful look at the product.
