New Whole Foods Price Cuts Will Focus On Fresh Produce

Still eager to shed its too-pricey reputation, Whole Foods Market introduced a new round of price cuts on April 3. This time the chain is dropping prices by what the grocery giant claims is an average of 20 percent on hundreds of select items throughout the store. As with other recent price cuts at Whole Foods, exclusive benefits for Amazon Prime members will also be expanded, largely in the form of weekly specials on select products.

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A press release from Whole Foods highlighted specific items like organic rainbow chard ($1.99 per bunch) and large yellow mangoes ($1 each). An accompanying graphic touts a 22 percent savings on a hypothetical grocery basket filled with common items like chicken breast, sausage, russet potatoes, red pepper, tomatoes and apples.

Changes at Whole Foods have grabbed headlines since the chain's acquisition by Amazon in 2017 — last summer saw the nationwide rollout of the Amazon Prime discount as well as expanded grocery delivery options from the chain. But the most anticipated change has been price cuts, the first round of which were announced to great fanfare almost immediately after the mega-retailer took over.

Some observers have pointed out that the ballyhooed price cuts might not end up helping consumers' bottom line — low prices on noticeable staples like bananas are often counterbalanced by markups on other items.

But Chuck Grom of the research firm Gordon Haskett, whose previous analysis found that consumers would enjoy surprisingly limited benefits from earlier rounds of price cuts, told the New York Post that these reductions could prove to be more "material."

Grom told The Daily Meal via email that a thorough analysis is in the works. 

A representative for Whole Foods declined to offer any more specifics about the price cuts. But if you're fond of some of the other items highlighted in the press release — like organic tofu, San Pellegrino bottled water or 35-ounce tubs of Greek yogurt — then you might already be a Whole Foods fan. Regardless of where you choose to shop, buying in-season produce is one of the best tips and tricks for saving money at the supermarket.