Whole Foods to open 43 stores with 11 in California

Dive Brief:

Whole Foods Market plans to expand across the country with 43 stores across 19 states and Washington, D.C. California will be home to 11 of the new locations, including three in San Francisco and two in Los Angeles, according to the grocer’s website.
The majority of the stores under development are in urban areas where the grocer already has a presence, like New York City and Washington, D.C., which are both slated to get two new stores.
The dozens of planned stores come at a time when Whole Foods is bolstering its footprint and opening new formats in the U.S. as parent company Amazon grows its grocery ecosystem.

Dive Insight:

After struggling with foot traffic during the pandemic, Whole Foods is positioning itself for future growth with its upcoming U.S. expansion and plans to reorganize its corporate divisions.

With 11 upcoming stores, California has the most under development, followed by five in New York, four in Florida, three in New Jersey and three in Virginia. The grocer also has two new stores each expected for Illinois and Washington, D.C., and one in Maryland. The remaining stores will come to Avon and South Windsor, Connecticut; Overland Park, Kansas; Hyannis, Massachusets; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Frisco, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Grand Rapids, Michigan and Bozeman, Montana.

Whole Foods did not provide a timeline for each one’s expected opening. With more than 500 stores in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, Whole Foods is hiring for roughly 10,000 jobs companywide to boost its current employee base of more than 100,000 workers.

So far this year, the specialty grocer has announced two store openings. In April, Whole Foods opened its first banner in Wyoming after acquiring Jackson Whole Grocer several months ago. In February, Whole Foods expanded in Boulder, Colorado, with a new store. In the past year, the Amazon-owned grocer grew and ventured into new concepts, including a dark store in Brooklyn and a new Ideal Market store in Colorado. The grocer also expanded pickup nationwide.

Meanwhile, parent company Amazon has been busy ramping up its grocery presence. Earlier this week, the e-tailer said it is phasing out its Go Grocery banner as it continues to build out its Amazon Fresh stores. Amazon also recently said it is expanding Amazon One, its palm payment tool, to several Whole Foods stores.

Correction: This article cited information from Whole Food's website, which was out of date. We have updated the article to reflect updated information the company has provided.