Whole Foods Market has kicked off a renewed UK expansion plan, by opening its first store in a decade.
The new supermarket will open on 25 March, on London’s King’s Road, a location first revealed by The Grocer in March 2024. However, the retailer hinted that it would look to expand outside the capital for the first time since 2017, and was “actively” looking for an unspecified number of locations across the UK.
It marks a distinct change in ambitions from owner Amazon, which has been rolling back its UK grocery offer in recent years. In March 2024, Whole Foods shuttered its Richmond and Chelsea stores, as well as a Dartford-based distribution centre, in a move it said would “pave the way for future growth” in the UK.
The new 21,800 sq ft store, located at 120 King’s Road, is Whole Foods’ first new UK store since 2014. It will feature a mix of new and “exclusive” UK grocery, health and beauty products, alongside Whole Foods’ more traditional store formats, including a hot food counter, salad bar and full-service fish and meat counters.
The “curated grocery selection” will feature products from 80 UK brands, including Xoxo, Old Spike Roastery and Joe & Seph’s. Its booze department, which features 400 wines, will also feature exclusive product partnerships, with Mondo Brewery and Mirabeau Rosé.
“Whole Foods Market has roots deeply planted in the UK, and we are thrilled to be bringing more natural and organic food to this market with the opening of our new King’s Road store this March,” said Jason Buechel, VP of Amazon worldwide grocery stores and Whole Foods Market CEO.
“Continuing our expansion outside of the US enables us to extend our reach to more customers while advancing our higher purpose to nourish people and the planet.”
Whole Foods struggles in the UK
Despite being one of America’s biggest retailers, Whole Foods has struggled to cut through in a UK market, where its premium organic offer has much more established competition from the likes of Waitrose and, more recently, M&S.
Despite rolling out a store-wide value campaign, as well as beginning to stock hundreds of the UK ”staples” like Heinz Beanz, it has struggled to turn the dial, falling to a £23.1m loss in 2023 – the latest in a series of consecutive losses since the Covid-19 pandemic.
When King’s Road opens, Whole Foods will have six UK stores, and 530 globally. It’s one of 90 new openings planned across the UK, Canada and its core market the US.
“We know customers in the UK are seeking high-quality natural and organic products,” said Christina Minardi, executive VP growth & development, Whole Foods Market & Amazon.
“As we plan for the future, we are actively looking at this market and opportunities to bring Whole Foods Market to more customers there.”
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