The Friday Checkout: Amazon taps Whole Foods leadership for grocery growth

Miami Herald

a day ago

When Amazon purchased Whole Foods Market back in 2017, it was a safe assumption that the specialty grocer's image would morph to reflect Amazon's business. And for a time, that was the direction things were going: Whole Foods' pricing has gotten more competitive, Amazon Prime serves as a loyalty program of sorts, and the grocer now touts more high-tech payment options, including palm-scanning payment. There was even a stint with Just Walk Out frictionless checkout.
Now, however, the tables are turning - Amazon seemingly wants to be more like Whole Foods.
Amazon has spent years finding its footing in an attempt to get its own grocery empire off the ground - particularly with its traditional grocery chain Amazon Fresh - but nothing has wowed the industry or shoppers. And while Amazon Fresh hasn't indicated that it plans to become a specialty grocer, it is at long last leaning into Whole Foods' leadership to chart a better course.
Though Amazon established a single grocery entity back in 2022, Whole Foods and Amazon's supermarket operations still ran fairly separately. This separation was fine for Whole Foods' growth, but Amazon continued to play whack-a-mole with store openings and closures for Amazon Fresh.
This week, Amazon unveiled a restructured leadership team for its Worldwide Grocery division that includes top executives from Whole Foods Market. This internal shift comes less than six months after Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel stepped in to helm both Whole Foods and Amazon's grocery business as vice president for worldwide grocery stores.
It seems Amazon is finally recognizing that Whole Foods is an asset not just as a specialty banner, but also as a key guide to Amazon's grocery ambitions. With Amazon Fresh treading water for so long, it's odd Amazon didn't call in Whole Foods for an assist years ago.
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Latest spin-off from the Chantilly Cake craze
Chantilly Cake - vanilla cake with berry jam, fresh berries and whipped Chantilly cream - is all the rage, and Publix is the latest grocer to hop on the bandwagon.
The Florida-based grocer has released a limited-edition Chantilly Cake ice cream "with white cake ice cream, berry swirls, and bits of almond-flavored cake," Food & Wine reported this week. The frozen treat is based on the Chantilly Cake Publix carries in its bakery department, Lindsey Willis, media relations manager at Publix, told the publication.
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