by Bob Benenson, FamilyFarmed
There is hardly a bigger Good Food movement success story than that of Whole Foods Market. From a single store in Austin, Texas, that opened in 1980, Whole Foods blossomed not only into the nation’s biggest natural products supermarket chain, but a major force in the grocery industry, and is now its most valuable chain.
Along the way, Whole Foods has helped introduce millions of Americans to concepts such as organic, non-GMO, sustainable seafood, and grass-fed beef and dairy products, boosting the expansion of the movement itself.
So Michael Bashaw — president of Whole Foods Market’s 48-store-and-growing Midwest region — had a very attentive audience when he spoke on Feb. 2 to entrepreneurs, financiers, and others associated with FamilyFarmed‘s Good Food Business Accelerator program at 1871, Chicago’s center for entrepreneurship and innovation.
Whole Foods is a key partner in FamilyFarmed’s Accelerator program, which provides mentorship, technical assistance, and networking opportunities to a selected group of nine Fellows, each of whom run food or farm businesses in the Good Food sector. The grocery chain, a longtime supporter of FamilyFarmed’s efforts to expand the market for Good Food, will again be a sponsor of the organization’s annual Good Food Festival & Conference, scheduled for March 19-21 at Chicago’s UIC Forum. Michael Bashaw, president of Whole Foods Market’s Midwest regionBashaw was talking to budding Good Food entrepreneurs who are hungry for financial success, and implored them to focus on building business skills. “We’re a feel-good business, but we think of ourselves as a very good business. Good, smart business people, analytical business people,” Bashaw said.
But the theme of his talk and q-and-a session was not about the nuts and bolts of business planning, but rather about the employer-employee relationships that he portrayed as the secret to Whole Foods’ success: a corporate culture that both encourages and requires responsibility among senior leadership, store managers, and team members; a relatively non-hierarchical approach to leadership and management; and an openness to new ideas bubbling up from within the ranks.
“What, in any company, what is your greatest resource? It’s your people,” Bashaw said. “And to the extent that they feel empowered to do their best, that is so, so wonderful for any company.”
Bashaw said that open communication with employees fosters the trust needed to get them to buy in. Calling Whole Foods’ internal structure an “information sieve,” he said management shares with staff the company’s sales information, pricing, strategies, “just about everything about the company.”
“If you’re running one of the stores, you have just learned everything about running your own company,” he said. “You know what the rent is, what percentage labor is, what the utilities cost, how to get the plumbing repaired.”
Bashaw continued, “How can you trust your leadership if they’re hiding things from you… How do you get people to follow your vision, the goal that you set? If they have that built-in trust, it’s so much easier to get them along for that ride than to try to build that from scratch.”
Bashaw said he has no interest in micromanaging and what he called “the illusion of control,” stating, “I think about what my life would be like if I really wanted to control everything.”
“I certainly do not want staff to call me every night when they have to make a decision about something,” he continued. “My life would be hell. No, I’m delegating, I’m letting it go. I’m making somebody else responsible. What we’re doing throughout the entire company is trying to delegate, delegate, delegate down. Give the person who is in the best position the authority to make the decision.”
Despite its enormous popularity and its role in promoting a healthier and more sustainable food system, Whole Foods Market has hardly been immune to criticisms, some of them barbed, about matters such as its upscale image and aversion to union organizing. It is also facing mounting competition from mainstream retailers targeting the lucrative natural and organic products sector that Whole Foods has elevated to mainstream status.
Whole Foods’ stock price dropped precipitously last year when Wall Street realized the challenge that this mainstream competition presented to the chain. Whole Foods responded with a $20 million advertising campaign that emphasized the chain’s core values.
On a macro level, the campaign succeeded in propping up Whole Foods’ stock price. In addition, Bashaw asserted that the campaign affirmed the companies’ leadership in bringing authentic products to people and families.
“Part of the campaign came from a feeling that we knew who we are, and the media didn’t always portray us the way we thought we were,” Bashaw told the Accelerator program gathering.
Bashaw addressed the pricing issue that often comes up for the chain, which has long had to deal with the label of “Whole Paycheck.” He said, “The highest quality food is almost never at the lowest price. For the customer who is only concerned about price, we’re probably never going to really appeal to that person. We think we’re about values and values. We have values about how food is grown, we have values about how farmers are compensated for work they do, or the environment they work in.”
He also discussed Whole Foods’ recent and ongoing efforts to move out of its comfort zone in affluent neighborhoods and open stores in more economically disadvantaged locations, such as downtown Detroit and the Englewood community on Chicago’s South Side. Bashaw worked directly with Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb to develop both these stores.
“Detroit literally was an act of faith, looking toward the company’s mission to nourish communities,” Bashaw said. “For a while the company’s been dealing with an internal conundrum. We say that we aim to bring healthy foods to the world, but if you look at where our stores are, is that really true? Are we getting to every place that we could? Detroit was literally a test to see if we in fact could change that model, so that it would work in a place like Detroit.”
The result, he said, has been a booming success. According to Bashaw, “I think we hit our 10-year sales projection after 14 months.” The problem with Detroit at the moment, he added, “is that the store is too small.”
The Englewood location is on track to open in 2016. Whole Foods’ regional leadership is working actively with FamilyFarmed through its Accelerator, as well as with other local leaders, to vastly increase the number of Chicago-made products that will be sold at the store and throughout the region, helping to build the type of local food cluster vital to the continued growth of the Good Food movement.
Bashaw is a co-chairman of FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference on March 19 — the kickoff for the three-day Good Food Festival & Conference — along with Marc Schulman, president of Chicago-based Eli’s Cheesecake, and Jennifer Worstell, a member of the FamilyFarmed Board of Directors.
Food and farm businesses that have participated in the conference during the past three years now have raised more than $10.5 million from debt and equity investors. This year’s event includes more than 20 food and farm businesses that will be seeking capital. It also includes speakers such as chef Rick Bayless of the Frontera Mexican food empire; Cook County (Chicago) Board President Toni Preckwinkle; CEOs from Lifeway Kefir, Argo Tea, and Koval Distillery; plus leaders from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1871, the U.S. Small Business Administration; and more. Michael Bashaw visited on Feb. 2 with associates of FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Business Accelerator program. From left, Jenny Yang of Phoenix Soy; Thomas Frierson of Spark of the Heart; Alberto Rincon of Urban Canopy; Riana Lynn of Food Trace; Rowida Assalimy of Ro’s Beverages; Bashaw; Mark Schneider of Living Water Farms; Raya Carr of Mint Creek Farm; Joel Blechman, director of the Good Food Business Accelerator; and Jim Slama, president of FamilyFarmed.“Whole Foods Market has been a partner for all 11 years of our Good Food Trade Show, and together with the broader community, we have made this the go-to trade and consumer event for sustainable and local food in the region,” said Jim Slama, president of FamilyFarmed. “With the Good Food Business Accelerator now at 1871, the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation is reflected broadly throughout the region. We are grateful for Whole Foods’ support in making this happen.”
Strategic partnerships
with Whole Foods Market, UNFI, and SBA make the accelerator a national leader
in advancing sustainable food businesses. “Accelerating Good Food” event
to be held October 1 at 1871
CHICAGO
(September 22, 2014) - The Good
Food Business Accelerator (GFBA), a major new fellowship program for regional food and
farm entrepreneurs, is being launched this month by FamilyFarmed.org. A
non-profit organization, FamilyFarmed.org has
been promoting local, sustainable, humane, and fair food for more than 15
years.
The
GFBA is headquartered at 1871, Chicago’s center for digital technology and
innovation, and will be its first tenant focused on encouraging broad-based
food entrepreneurship. The GFBA also will be the nation’s first business
accelerator focused on building supply chains of sustainable local food.
“The
Good Food Business Accelerator aligns perfectly with 1871’s mission to foster
economic and job growth by facilitating the efforts of creative entrepreneurs
across every important market sector,” said Howard A. Tullman, CEO of 1871.
“FamilyFarmed.org already has had a major impact in this industry and will open up important new avenues
at 1871 for businesses in the thriving Good Food sector.”
Applications
for the first class of Fellows are now being accepted. All manner of
food-related businesses that can leverage technology in the food sector
are eligible to compete for the fellowships including food artisans,
consumer packaged goods companies, farmers, technology firms, food hubs,
restaurants, retailers, and foodservice providers.
“The
Good Food Business Accelerator gets businesses ready for prime time, giving
them the skills to raise funding to launch or scale up," said Jim Slama,
president of FamilyFarmed.org. "The GFBA has first-class partners that
will support Fellows to be major players in a thriving Good Food Cluster."
Whole
Foods Market, the nation’s largest natural foods supermarket chain,
and UNFI, the nation’s leading distributor of natural and organic food, are strategic
partners on the GBFA project. Lead funding for the GFBA came from Food:Land:Opportunity – Localizing the Chicago Foodshed, an
initiative of the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust that seeks to
strengthen the resiliency of the region by increasing the supply of local and
sustainable food. In addition, the Accelerator recently earned a $50,000 grant
from the U.S.
Small Business Administration Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.
“Whole
Foods Market is pleased to be a partner in the creation of the Good Food
Business Accelerator,” says Michael Bashaw, Midwest president of Whole Foods
Market. “It is an innovative way to support food and farm entrepreneurs to grow
the supply of local and organic food.”
The
Accelerator project will build upon the successes of FamilyFarmed.org and its Good
Food Trade Show and Financing &
Innovation Conference, held each March in Chicago. They are the oldest and most
advanced regional Good Food industry gatherings in the U.S., and aim to build supply
chains to meet the fast-growing demand for sustainable local food. Illinois
alone is a $50 billion market for food, but currently 95 percent of that is
grown and processed out of state — underscoring the growth potential of local
Good Food businesses.
These
events bring together more than 1,000 food producers, entrepreneurs, trade
buyers, financiers, NGOs, investors and others engaged in expanding a robust
Midwest Good Food cluster. Regional businesses secured more than $5 million in
funding over the past two years through participation in the Good Food
Financing & Innovation Conference. The gathering also includes the Good
Food Festival, which last year featured seven chefs and authors
recognized by the James Beard Foundation and more than 3,500 attendees.
Those
accepted as Fellows will receive mentoring, strategic support, connections to
customers, and access to capital to launch and expand profitable local and
sustainable Good Food businesses.
The
impressive lineup of nearly 100 mentors and advisers include leaders from Whole
Foods Market, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, organic distributor Goodness
Greeness, Eli’s Cheesecake, One Off Hospitality Group, 2X Consumer Products
Growth Partners and many more.
The
programs for the Good Food Business Accelerator Fellows will begin in early
November and run for six months. Fellows will pitch their business plans at the
Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference on Thursday, March 19 at the
UIC Forum before a highly engaged audience of financiers and investors.
Speakers
at last year’s conference included Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, 1871 CEO Howard
A. Tullman, and Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb. Chicago is now home to the Sustainable Local Food Investment Group and
the Angel Food Network, which have together
more than 40 angel investors seeking to deploy capital in local food
businesses.
The
event Accelerating
Good Food will introduce the Good Food Business Accelerator to businesses
and the public and will be held the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 1871.
Joining Slama as speakers will be Howard A. Tullman of 1871; Eli’s Cheesecake
President Marc Schulman; John Hall, the founder of Chicago’s Goose Island
brewing company and lead investor of FarmedHere, a
large-scale, organic indoor farm in the Chicago suburb of Bedford Park; plus
other successful food and farm entrepreneurs.
“The
speakers’ lineup reflects the broad network of industry leaders that
FamilyFarmed has developed, and also signals the quality of the instruction and
mentorship that GFBA Fellows will receive,” Slama said. For more information
about the Good Food Business Accelerator or the Oct. 1 Accelerating Good Food,
please contact Bob Benenson of Family Farmed.org at bob@familyfarmed.org or
202-746-1378.
Look for a disruption in the daily diet of entrepreneurs at the 1871 tech incubator (Leftover bagels? Cold pizza?) with the announcement Monday that the newly formed Good Food Business Accelerator would join the Merchandise Mart-based co-working space.
The accelerator, run by Oak Park-based nonprofit FamilyFarmed.org, aims to promote “local, sustainable, humane and fair food,” said FamilyFarmed president Jim Slama.
“We are thrilled to be part of 1871,” Slama said. “It’s such a vibrant, exciting space, and we’re excited to be part of that.”
He said the accelerator is accepting applications, including from for-profit companies, with details available at goodfoodaccelerator.org.
“We just want to increase the supply of good food,” Slama said.
The food accelerator will be in 1871’s expanded space, set to open next month, and 1871 CEO Howard Tullman said it fits right in with his growth plans.
“The Good Food Business Accelerator aligns perfectly with 1871’s mission to foster economic and job growth by facilitating the efforts of creative entrepreneurs across every important market sector,” Tullman said in a statement announcing the program.
Slama said the accelerator will be home to as many as eight startups, which will participate in a six-month program, including the chance to pitch their companies to potential investors in March at the Good Food Financing and Innovation Conference in Chicago.
He said about 100 mentors have signed on. Among them are Big Bowl partner and executive chef Marc Bernard; Whole Foods Midwest region president Michael Bashaw; Linda Darragh, executive director of the Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative at Northwestern University; and Impact Engine chairman Chuck Templeton, who founded OpenTable.
Whole Foods Market and United Natural Foods Inc., a distributor of natural and organic foods, will be “strategic partners” in the accelerator, Slama said.
Lead funding for the accelerator came from “Food:Land:Opportunity — Localizing the Chicago Foodshed,” an initiative of the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust, according to a statement announcing the accelerator. Slama said the accelerator also received a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Slama said the Good Food Business Accelerator won’t take an equity position in participating companies. He directed questions about fees to the program’s website, which said participants “will be required to pay an annual fee to FamilyFarmed based on the increase in revenue of their businesses. Without sales growth, (participants) will not pay any fee.”
Slama said the three main goals of the program will be to help participating companies fine-tune their business plan, to improve their market development and customer development strategies and to build a financing plan.
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