1. Hannah Dion, Yvonne Dygon, Austin
Urkiel, Vinnie Virga

2. Overview
About Us
Research Objectives
Research Methods
Literature Review
Focus Group
Hypotheses & Conclusions
Limitations & Future Research

3. About Whole Foods
“We seek out the finest natural and organic foods
available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the
industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to
sustainable agriculture. Add to that the excitement and
fun we bring to shopping for groceries, and you start to
get a sense of what we’re all about. Oh yeah, we’re a
mission-driven company too.”

4. Whole Foods Sells...
“—A BEAUTIFUL, WORTHY
AND ANCIENT PRODUCT—
SO THAT WE CAN PLANT
TREES AND ENCOURAGE
KIDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL.
ONE BY ONE, WE TRY TO
EXPAND WHAT’S

5. Research Objectives
Whole Foods has been
expanding quickly, but
should they invest in
locations near college
campuses?
Are college students
concerned with price or
quality?

6. Research Method
1. Exploratory Research and Literature Review
2. Qualitative Research
Focus Groups (6 participants)
3. Quantitative Research
Surveys (60 respondents)

7. Literature Review● “Full-time college students, on average, allocate more of their meals to off-campus dining during a typical week.”
(Mintel 2015).
● Specifically, students are interested in eating higher quality foods, and much of those quality attributes are driven more
by the unique food preparations and flavor profiles than the healthfulness of the ingredients themselves” (Hartman
Group, 2008). Essentially, they found a threat to many food brands: finding unique and higher quality foods rather
than coming out with healthier versions of the same old food. The Hartman Group also found that “...[O]ne of the
chief factors driving the ‘high quality’ belief is the perception that the food in question is not manufactured by a large
food company”(Hartman Group, 2008).
● Students would indeed pay “up to 10 percent more” for healthier options on-campus. (Newman, 2013)
● “What’s more, Whole Foods’ central conceit as a company is that it sells only the best, healthiest food—which
sometimes requires paying more.” (ie: McMillan 2014).
● “[m]ost college students don’t have the free time to create home-cooked meals on a regular basis, let alone the
appliances and space to make that happen” (Student Watch: Behavior and Trends of Student Consumers, 2011).

8. Qualitative Data

9. Hypotheses
H1: Students Prefer Price over Quality
H2: Females will have a more favorable
attitude towards Whole Foods than males.

10. H1: Price vs Quality
The significance(two-tailed) is
.008, (less than .05) therefore
we can support that quality is
statistically different than price.
When comparing the means,
price μ=6.00, and quality
μ=5.55, we can be statistically
confident that Price is preferred

11. H2: Female vs Male Attitude
The P-value for this is 0.864 (which is more than 0.05) therefore
our hypothesis cannot be supported. There is no difference
between male and female attitudes towards Whole Foods by
comparing the means of the two genders.

12. Descriptive Stat. Results
BEST PRICES %
Stop and Shop 10%
Whole Foods 2%
Big Y 5%
Super Target 22%
Walmart Superstores 53%
Cosco/ BJ's 27%
Aldi's 26%
Trader Joe's 9%
Dollar Tree/ Dollar General/ Family Dollar 26%
Price Chopper/ Sav-A-Lot/ Price Rite 17%
CVS/ Walgreens/ RiteAid 6%
BEST QUALITY %
Stop & Shop 17%
Big Y 22%
Whole Foods 68%
Super Target 20%
Walmart Superstore 5%
Cosco/BJ's 18%
Aldi's 2%
Trader Joe's 46%
Dollar Tree/Dollar General/Family Dollar 0%
Price Chopper/Save-A-Lot/Price Rite 2%
CVS/Walgreens/RiteAid 0%

13. Descriptive Stat. Results
Location was a top response: 67% of
respondents said that there is not a Whole
Foods within 10 miles
We asked why people do not shop at Whole
Foods:
● Many respondents complained that Whole Foods
was too Expensive

14. Implications
Marketing plans would not need to be gender
specific when advertising to students, as males
and females both currently have the same
perceptions of Whole Foods
Perhaps targeting college campuses for nearby
Whole Foods locations is not a good idea, unless
we lower our prices, or offer discounts
Exception: Locate Whole Foods on local bus routes,
to maximize convenience for students

15. Limitations
Budget
“Value” misperception
Gender distribution
Scope of survey takers
Survey size
38% dropout rate

16. Future
Focus Groups: Offer word association to stimulate
discussion of area grocery stores
Mention Whole Foods specifically
Walk around campus to distribute surveys
CLV of college students

17. Questions?Questions?
Thank
you!

18. References
Durham, N. (2015, January 16). Student life: Eating healthy on a budget. Retrieved February 5, 2015, from
http://www.colorado.edu/news/features/student-life-eating-healthy-budget
Food Trends of College Students. (2008, April 16). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from
http://www.hartman-group.com/hartbeat/food-trends-of-college-students
McMillan, T. (2014, November 19). What Happened When Whole Foods Tried to Challenge Elitism, Racism,
and Obesity in Detroit. Retrieved February 5, 2015, from
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2014/11/whole_foods_detroit_can_a_grocery_story_really_fight_e
litism_racism_and.html

19. References
Mintel. (2015). Colleges and Universities Foodservice – US – May 2014. Retrieved from Mintel Oxygen
database
Mission & Values. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values
Newman, J. (2013, December 12). Survey Shows Students Want Better Quality Food. Retrieved
February 5, 2015, from http://oracle.newpaltz.edu/survey-shows-students-want-better-quality-food/
Student Watch: Behavior and Trends of Student Consumers. (2011). Retrieved February 9, 2015,
from http://www.nacs.org/email/html/OnCampusResearch/SPR-080-03-12_Client Newsletter.pdf
Whole Foods Market. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/