Whole Foods to Open New Health Resort
Whole Foods is proving the “whole” in its name. The natural foods chain is branching out from simply selling all things healthy to launching a luxe health resort. To be located near its Austin headquarters, the new Whole Foods resort would allow health nuts to learn about healthy living, reported USA Today.
“We have the perfect vehicle for this,” Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey told USA Today. “Think of it as a center where people would go for a day, a weekend or a week for healthy lifestyle education.”
The resort, which would be slapped with the label Whole Foods in its name, is scheduled to open near downtown Austin in roughly three years.
The healthy food giant is searching for the perfect piece of real estate and the perfect hotel chain to oversee operations. Should the health resort prove successful, the company would consider launching further locations.
Despite our difficult economic times, healthy living is still a multibillion-dollar industry. With 346 stores in operation – and sales and stock prices up greatly even after the economy was hit – Whole Foods knows this all too well. The chain intends to capitalize on the trend by expanding its healthy food interest into promoting an entire good-for-you lifestyle.
In spite of the healthy living fascination, Mackey admits the health resort could be a failure – or a huge step in the direction of new opportunities for the brand. The health food store has seen its plans flop, such as its five in-store, education-focused Wellness Clubs.
“It's an experiment, and you never know if experiments will be successful or not. It wasn't a total bomb but we couldn't reach critical mass,” he explained.
The resort concept was born out of an inside-company effort to improve the diet and lifestyle of Whole Foods employees through advocating for weight loss and reduced blood pressure and cholesterol. “I've seen it improve the lives of hundreds of our team members,” Mackey declared.
Brand expert Robert Passikoff believes the concept could pay off handsomely. “To move from natural foods to natural spas works,” Passikoff said. “Whole Foods is really a category unto itself.”
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