In Manhattan, Whole Foods Is Considered A 'Bargain' Grocer

It's a strange and, frankly, shocking sign of the times that Whole Foods can now be considered one of the cheapest chains at which to do your grocery shopping... in Manhattan, that is, so do take this information with a grain of your best coarse sea salt.

In a report from Bloomberg Intelligence, comparison shopping a basket of 97 items across different grocer options including Whole Foods, Gristedes, Fresh Direct, D'Agostino, Food Emporium, and Fairway Market, revealed that only Fairway Market, at $347.10 for all 97 items, was less expensive than Whole Foods, at $391.39 for the basket.

The most expensive grocery chain in Manhattan was Gristedes, where the same basket of items cost $458.84.

Whole Foods has reportedly been "working to shed its 'Whole Paycheck' image in order to compete with other organic grocers," but that may be a long way off anywhere but Manhattan.

With the option of Trader Joe's own inventory to fulfill consumers' organic needs at a fraction of the cost, it's unlikely that we'll ever see Whole Foods top customers' nominations for the best-priced organic grocers.

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