Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market has unveiled a new, smaller-format store concept that, at about one-quarter of the size of the chain’s typical store, is designed to serve urban neighborhoods. Called the Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, the first location will open on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, with additional locations in New York City to follow before expansion across the country.
Ranging from 7,000 to 14,000 square feet (compared to the 40,000 square feet of the average Whole Foods full-line store), the retailer touted the new format as “paving the way for expansion in dense, metropolitan areas.” Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will provide a range of grab-and-go meals and snacks as well as weekly grocery essentials, including produce, meat, seafood, breads, alcohol, supplements and local specialties. The Upper East Side location, which is slated to open this year, will also be the first Whole Foods in Manhattan to offer the company’s Juice & Java café offering.
“At our new store formats, we’re tailoring every square foot to the unique, fast-paced needs of urban lifestyles,” said Christina Minardi, EVP of Growth and Development at Whole Foods Market and Amazon in a statement. “Expanding our footprint with Whole Foods Market Daily Shop is key to our growth, fostering deeper customer connections and advancing our purpose to nourish people and the planet.”
Whole Foods was careful to point out that the new Daily Shop format will not replace its traditional stores, but rather is a way to offer optionality and reach new customers. In 2023, Whole Foods Market added its 17th store in New York City at One Wall Street, and the company currently has more than 75 new stores in the pipeline worldwide. The company also has recently rolled out the Amazon One palm-based payment tech chainwide in the U.S.
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