Whole Foods tests Wellness Clubs for healthier eating

ByABC News
August 24, 2011, 6:53 PM

— -- Whole Foods is about to take the nation on a serious wellness trip.

The nation's largest natural foods chain could once again change the supermarket experience for shoppers. Over the next three months, it will open membership-only Wellness Clubs in a handful of stores, including the first one in Dedham, Mass., which opened last week.

For a one-time fee of $199 and monthly membership dues of $45, shoppers can get lifestyle evaluations and access to classes in nutrition, cooking and health, along with 10% discounts on 1,000 better-for-you foods sold in Whole Foods.

If the test is a success, Whole Foods will roll out the Wellness Clubs in most of its 310 stores. Wellness Clubs also are slated to open this fall in Chicago, Oakland, Tribeca, N.Y., and Princeton, N.J.

"If you want to shift the paradigm, you have to be willing to do bold things," says founder and co-CEO John Mackey. "It will be controversial, but it will also be catalytic."

Because Whole Foods is a cultural barometer, when it acts, the $562 billion grocery industry reacts. Its success with organic foods nudged behemoths from Wal-Mart to Safeway to sell them. If its Wellness Clubs are a hit, others will follow.

"People are trying to manage their own health better but aren't sure how," says consultant Roger Davidson "If Whole Foods succeeds with this, other retailers will pick this up. This isn't a gimmick."

The idea came from an in-house program that led hundreds of Whole Foods employees to lose weight and lower cholesterol levels.

As many as 32 classes are part of Wellness Clubs, says Mackey. Some will have Supper Clubs for members, with big discounts on healthy meals served in the store.

With total first-year membership at $740, it may be a tough sell. The idea comes at a time Americans are increasingly concerned about health, but it also comes in the midst of a still-hazy economy. "People like to take control of their own health and wellness," says brand consultant Peter Madden. "But this is a tall order, especially when you put dollars and cents to it."