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Whole Foods is absolute TRASH after Amazon bought it. The food used to be good and now it's absolute crap, less options, utter rubbish no better than keyfood. A

by j0hnyl 4y ago

Whole Foods is absolute TRASH after Amazon bought it. The food used to be good and now it's absolute crap, less options, utter rubbish no better than keyfood. At least in NYC anyway. (multiple locations)

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> in NYC anyway True in Wyoming and the Bay Area, too. Produce and fish aren’t as fresh as competitors. It’s cheaper. But not premium.
- sgc 4y ago
  I don't find this true at all in my bay area location. Their fish is still the freshest in the area, including when comparing to the local fishmonger. Their produce is well above the quality and freshness of other stores except one, which they can match. Their bakery is still quite good. Variety is roughly the same. It's the same old overpriced-but-reliable Whole Foods.
crazygringo 4y ago
I'm in NYC and I have no idea what you're talking about. The food is the same. Nothing has changed that I can tell. Same hot/cold bar. Same produce. Same meat and fish. Same in house brands. Same pizza. Same bakery. Main differences are just a lot more self checkout and areas for Amazon returns. And Prime discounts of course. What food do you think got worse?
- rcme 4y ago
  The produce has changed a lot. Now, the fruits and vegetables leave a lot to be desired. If you compare the best from Whole Foods and the best from Fresh Direct, you'll see that Fresh Direct is a clear winner in most categories, but especially in produce and meat. The two used to be a lot closer in terms of quality.
  - j0hnyl 4y ago
    Even the prepared food has changed. It's feels cheap and tastes like shit, but carries the same price. Gowanus whole foods had a whole section of moldy cold cuts not too long. If people haven't noticed what I'm talking about, its probably that they just don't remember how nice it used to be before.
  - crazygringo 4y ago
    Sorry, but I just don't see it. Only difference is Fresh Direct puts a produce quality rating so you know when ordering online what the quality will be. The only store that has consistently better produce at scale than Whole Foods in NYC is Eataly, but it's more expensive and there are only two of them. Before that there was Dean & Deluca but they've long since gone out of business and their prices were astronomical -- but I swear their produce section was like a museum and the vegetables were almost works of art. I find it funny that when you drill down, the only supposed quality decrease is in the "freshness" of produce and meat, the two things that are ultimately the most subjective. I've shopped at a lot of supermarkets for a long time, and I truly have to wonder if people are simply imagining a decrease in freshness simply because it fits a preconceived narrative that if Amazon bought it, it must have gotten worse. Because with my own eyes and taste, I don't see it at all. And it's not like this is ancient history hard to remember -- Amazon only bought WF five and a half years ago.
    - rcme 4y ago
      > I find it funny that when you drill down, the only supposed quality decrease is in the "freshness" of produce and meat The difference in quality has little to do with "freshness." I recently studied the difference between Whole Foods and Fresh Direct in some detail. Fresh Direct is generally 20% more expensive than Whole Foods. We were looking to cut our budget, so switching from Fresh Direct to Whole Foods was an easy choice. However, after a few weeks, it was clear that the quality just isn't as good. Here are a few examples: 1. Fresh Direct has heritage raised chicken and pork. The chicken, in particular is amazing. It's much smaller than a typical chicken, way more flavorful, and the color of the meat is so interesting. The dark meat has a beautiful purple luster not found in the Whole Foods chicken. 2. The "Animal Wellfare Certified" meats at Whole Foods are all step 1 or step 2. Fresh Directly has many step 3 and step 4 options. 3. All of the Lancaster Co-op produce is really good. Can't find anything like it at Whole Foods. 4. We eat a lot of fruit during the summer. Certain produce at Whole Foods is just bad. Like I could not buy a good organic peach at Whole Foods. They always came rock hard and never softened.
zeroonetwothree 4y ago
I haven’t noticed any change whatsoever in my Bay Area location

by j0hnyl 4y ago

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> in NYC anyway True in Wyoming and the Bay Area, too. Produce and fish aren’t as fresh as competitors. It’s cheaper. But not premium.

sgc 4y ago
I don't find this true at all in my bay area location. Their fish is still the freshest in the area, including when comparing to the local fishmonger. Their produce is well above the quality and freshness of other stores except one, which they can match. Their bakery is still quite good. Variety is roughly the same. It's the same old overpriced-but-reliable Whole Foods.

crazygringo 4y ago

I'm in NYC and I have no idea what you're talking about. The food is the same. Nothing has changed that I can tell. Same hot/cold bar. Same produce. Same meat and fish. Same in house brands. Same pizza. Same bakery. Main differences are just a lot more self checkout and areas for Amazon returns. And Prime discounts of course. What food do you think got worse?

rcme 4y ago
The produce has changed a lot. Now, the fruits and vegetables leave a lot to be desired. If you compare the best from Whole Foods and the best from Fresh Direct, you'll see that Fresh Direct is a clear winner in most categories, but especially in produce and meat. The two used to be a lot closer in terms of quality.
- j0hnyl 4y ago
  Even the prepared food has changed. It's feels cheap and tastes like shit, but carries the same price. Gowanus whole foods had a whole section of moldy cold cuts not too long. If people haven't noticed what I'm talking about, its probably that they just don't remember how nice it used to be before.
- crazygringo 4y ago
  Sorry, but I just don't see it. Only difference is Fresh Direct puts a produce quality rating so you know when ordering online what the quality will be. The only store that has consistently better produce at scale than Whole Foods in NYC is Eataly, but it's more expensive and there are only two of them. Before that there was Dean & Deluca but they've long since gone out of business and their prices were astronomical -- but I swear their produce section was like a museum and the vegetables were almost works of art. I find it funny that when you drill down, the only supposed quality decrease is in the "freshness" of produce and meat, the two things that are ultimately the most subjective. I've shopped at a lot of supermarkets for a long time, and I truly have to wonder if people are simply imagining a decrease in freshness simply because it fits a preconceived narrative that if Amazon bought it, it must have gotten worse. Because with my own eyes and taste, I don't see it at all. And it's not like this is ancient history hard to remember -- Amazon only bought WF five and a half years ago.
  - rcme 4y ago
    > I find it funny that when you drill down, the only supposed quality decrease is in the "freshness" of produce and meat The difference in quality has little to do with "freshness." I recently studied the difference between Whole Foods and Fresh Direct in some detail. Fresh Direct is generally 20% more expensive than Whole Foods. We were looking to cut our budget, so switching from Fresh Direct to Whole Foods was an easy choice. However, after a few weeks, it was clear that the quality just isn't as good. Here are a few examples: 1. Fresh Direct has heritage raised chicken and pork. The chicken, in particular is amazing. It's much smaller than a typical chicken, way more flavorful, and the color of the meat is so interesting. The dark meat has a beautiful purple luster not found in the Whole Foods chicken. 2. The "Animal Wellfare Certified" meats at Whole Foods are all step 1 or step 2. Fresh Directly has many step 3 and step 4 options. 3. All of the Lancaster Co-op produce is really good. Can't find anything like it at Whole Foods. 4. We eat a lot of fruit during the summer. Certain produce at Whole Foods is just bad. Like I could not buy a good organic peach at Whole Foods. They always came rock hard and never softened.

zeroonetwothree 4y ago

I haven’t noticed any change whatsoever in my Bay Area location