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POSTED: Sunday, December 07, 2008

Does it cost more to shop at Whole Foods Market of “;whole paycheck”; repute than at other supermarkets in Hawaii?

The Star-Bulletin set out to answer this question by shopping for the same basket of goods at three supermarkets, including Whole Foods Market at Kahala Mall, Safeway Kapahulu and the newly remodeled Foodland at Market City Shopping Center.

After choosing 11 grocery items of relatively the same brand and size, with a few exceptions, the results were surprising - the total receipt at all three supermarkets only differed by between about $1 and $3.

Whole Foods Market did top the list, with a total of $54.68, followed by Foodland, at $53.78, and Safeway at $52.

Based on this basket of goods, the total price at Whole Foods was about 5 percent higher than at Safeway, and about 2 percent higher than Foodland. The total basket at Foodland was about 3 percent higher than Safeway.

Prices at the stores vary from week to week, as do certain brands, and in some cases, possibly even the location of the store, so these findings are just a snapshot of what was available on Tuesday.

Though Whole Foods recorded the highest receipt total, it did not always offer the highest price of all three stores in every category.

A box of Honey Nut Cheerios cost $5.99 at Whole Foods Market and Foodland, but only $5.89 at Safeway. However, silk vanilla soymilk (lite) cost the most at Foodland, at $5.69 a half gallon, compared to $5.39 at Whole Foods and only $4.79 at Safeway (with store card savings trimming off 50 cents).

Safeway topped the list when it came to buying organic Fuji apples, which cost $3.59 a pound compared to $3.29 a pound at Foodland. At $2.49 a pound, Whole Foods actually offered the best deal for the apples.

But at Safeway, the price for a box of Haagen-Dazs chocolate bars, Meadow Gold passion orange guava juice, and a jar of Bonne Maman strawberry topped the other two stores.

Now, for regular Fuji apples, Foodland and Safeway both had a sale for them at $2.99 a pound, which was less than the organic ones at Whole Foods. With Foodland's Maikai price this week, you also could get red delicious apples for just 98 cents a pound.

Tropicana orange juice cost the most at Foodland - at $6.89 for a half gallon, compared to $6.60 at Whole Foods, and only $3.69 at Safeway, which offered half off with the store card.

On the other hand, the best deal for a half gallon of Meadow Gold POG was at Foodland, at $3.19, compared to $3.79 at Safeway and $3.39 at Whole Foods.

But at Whole Foods, you also can buy 100-percent Florida orange juice under its 365 everyday value brand for $4.99, plus taste a free sample.

Vine-ripened cocktail tomatoes from Hamakua Springs Country Farms on the Big Island cost the same at Whole Foods and Safeway, at $4.99 per basket. At Foodland, it was only $4.29 a basket.

Retail analyst Stephany Sofos said she expected Safeway to offer the least expensive items, followed by Foodland and Whole Foods.

“;Usually due to economies of scale, Safeway can bring in the merchandise the cheapest,”; she said. “;They're the largest chain. With economies of scale, they can get better shipping costs.”;

Evidently, the savings from the Safeway card can add up, she said.

Safeway spokeswoman Espe Greenwood says Safeway card savings change every week, but that the store tries to stay competitively priced - particularly with buy one, get one free promotions and 72-hour sales.

Roughly half of Hawaii's 19 Safeway stores have so far been upgraded into lifestyle stores, she said, offering more organic selections and services. The O Organics line, in particular, was launched two years ago in response to consumer demand.

Foodland also offers discounts for those who hold a Maikai card, which is free, in addition to points that can be redeemed for a My Rewards Certificate, good for 5 percent off the next grocery purchase - or during Thanksgiving, a free turkey.

Right now, two certificates will get you a free 2-pound bag of shrimp.

Foodland spokeswoman Sheryl Toda said Foodland works hard to offer customers value, with more than 11,000 discounted Maikai special items each week in all major categories.

“;We encourage our customers to take advantage of our Maikai specials each week, and use their Maikai card to earn Maikai points every time they shop,”; she said.

Whole Foods shoppers

Most of the items in our basket were not necessarily ones that a Whole Foods shopper would look for, but were chosen so that they could be found at the other two stores.

Shoppers at Whole Foods probably shop for more than a box of Honey Nut Cheerios, but pick up, say, a gourmet cheese, hormone-free smoked beef, gluten-free bread, locally-grown arugula or a fresh sprig of sage.

Whole Foods does not offer a savings card, but it does offer rotating sales starting Thursday, a “;whole deal”; value guide via e-mail as well as a list of “;sure deals”; online. Whole Foods even offers “;value tours,”; a guided tour of the supermarket which teaches customers how to shop and save while eating healthy.

All three of the supermarkets do offer organic items, although for Foodland, it is only a small section in the stores.

Foodland is planning to expand its organic offers, according to Toda.

“;Growing our organic and natural foods category is important to us, and we are continually looking at ways to expand this category according to what our customers want,”; she said. “;We offer a wide range of products including organic and non-organic items because we want customers to be able to do all their grocery shopping in one place.”;

Typically, organic products will be more expensive than non-organic because costs are higher, she said.

Market analyst Marty Plotnick said Kahala offers the right demographics for Whole Foods, but that the 60-year-old Foodland should do just fine.

“;They have the floor space, the locations, the history and loyalty card program,”; said Plotnick.

Buying local is a good strategy for supermarkets, according to Sofos, because it reduces shipping costs.

“;If you can buy local, you're also reducing your carbon footprint and helping a local business,”; she said.

All three supermarkets do offer produce from local farms.

Besides price, people shop at a certain store due to the convenience factor - whether it's close to home or on the way home.

“;People shop because of convenience first, and pricing second, although in these economic times it might be the reverse,”; said Sofos. “;Third is the loyalty and quality issue.”;

Whole Foods at this time still has the novelty factor going for it, according to Sofos, but also will bring in much of the East Honolulu population.

But other supermarkets also are getting more competitive.

“;Both Safeway and Foodland have really upgraded themselves over the last several years,”; said Sofos. “;Foodland has become very contemporary, and brought in different choices for consumers with a few gourmet items.”;

When it comes to price, though, Sofos said a 5 percent difference could add up for a family of four.

All three supermarkets offered good customer service, and a pleasant shopping experience. All offer credit for each bag a customer brings in - 3 cents per bag at Safeway and 5 cents per bag at Whole Foods and Foodland.

More competition means more choices for consumers in Hawaii, said Plotnick, who considers 1985 a benchmark year because big-box stores arrived, and altered the distribution system in Hawaii.

“;Thirty-five years ago, we didn't have the diversity of stores or diversity of items,”; he said. “;We can get more of the things we want, we have more choices of brands, size, color, shape - it's here. We have it.”;

Finding the same items for basket was challenging

It was a challenge keeping the items within the basket the same - particularly when the supermarket did not carry the same brands on certain items.

However, this basket represented an effort to compare the most-similar items available at all three markets.

All items were purchased on Dec. 2 within a three-mile radius - at Whole Foods Market at Kahala Mall, Safeway Kapahulu and Foodland at Market City Shopping Center.

Shopping was done at Safeway using the savings card, and at Foodland using the Maikai card, both available for free. Shopping at Whole Foods (which does not offer a savings card) included items that could be found at the other two supermarkets, so did not include many specialty items you probably would make a trip there for, nor did it include Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value brand, which is typically a lower price, except for in one category.

Part of the challenge included finding the same items at the two other supermarkets other than Whole Foods, and this meant skipping the meat department and sliced breads.

It also was a challenge finding organic items of the same brand, which wasn't possible with the spring mix, given that Whole Foods carried Earthbound Farm, Safeway its own O Organics brand and Foodland carried Dole (which wasn't organic).

In frozen mixed vegetables, Whole Foods had its own 365 Organic Everyday Value brand, which was compared with Safeway's O Organic brand. Foodland did not have organic frozen mixed vegetables, so a conventional package was chosen. All three were the same size, at 16 ounces.

Also, with the French baguettes, Whole Foods offers Bale bakery, Safeway its own Artisan Safeway Select brand and Foodland offers two which are priced the same - La Brea Bakery and more recently, Tribeca Oven.

If we had chosen a different basket of goods a different week, of course, the outcome may very well have been different due to all the variables. Excluding categories that offered differing brands, however, the ranking results this time were still the same.