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It makes sense that food sold at
Whole Foods Market has historically been more expensive than other supermarkets’ offerings. When you sell organic foods, prices are bound to be higher than conventional fare. And that, in a nutshell, is how the company garnered its “Whole Paycheck” moniker.


Are these customers really spending their “Whole Paycheck” for organic foods?
Photo: David Shankbone, via Wikimedia Commons.  

Recently, however, Whole Foods’ management has made a big deal about investing in price — which is industry speak for “lowering prices.” The company desperately wants to convince consumers that its unofficial nickname is outdated.

At the same time, a number of new entrants have started encroaching on Whole Foods’ territory. None of those threats is more interesting than
Wal-Mart. The low-cost retailer has found its bread-and-better business — pun intended — to include groceries. Given that, it’s looking to get in on the organic foods game.

Who offers organic foods for less? With the battle heating up for domination of the organic foods retail industry, I hopped in my car to see how things played out in my area. The results were surprising.

In the interest of full transparency, here’s how the two grocers stacked up on price for a number of organic foods. At times, the size of products were different at the two stores. In those instances, they were normalized to match the lower size. Rarely were the organic packaged goods the same brand.

The low price winner is italicized, and the overall winner is clear.