On a trip to Korea in 2017, Carol Pak re-discovered makgeolli, a traditional Korean alcohol made with rice. She learned that makgeolli was Korea’s oldest alcoholic beverage and that there were hundreds of different makgeolli breweries. With just three ingredients, she was fascinated that makgeolli could taste so delicious and diverse, and she was disappointed by […]
Local
You & Me
Stefanie Garcia Turner has worked in the natural products industry for years. She has seen and helped hundreds of brands grow, but as she walked through her local tienda one day, a realization occurred to her. The same brands she saw as a kid were still there, but there were hardly any new products to […]
A Love Letter to Ruby Jean
Ruby Jean is the late grandmother of Chris Goode, founder and CEO of Ruby Jean’s Juicery. Ruby Jean was raised on a soul food diet and lived on very meager means, never in her life learning how to drive a car. She eventually moved to Kansas City, Mo.,in the late 1950s with several other family […]
Jenny’s Tofu
Jenny Yang had always enjoyed the local Chicago staple Phoenix Bean. So when the opportunity came to buy it, she was not only determined to carry on the tofu-making tradition, but it was also a way for her to launch her own creations with Jenny’s Tofu. An added incentive? To help those who do not […]
The 2025 Trends List
At Whole Foods Market, we’re leading the trends from top to bottom. Check out the 2025 trends and their stories to go deep. The snack aisle is a perfect place for disruption with brands taking on salty snacks like popcorn and adding global flavors to create fusion foods that have mass appeal and entice consumers […]
Shaquanda Will Feed You
On the front of Shaquanda’s Hot Pepper Sauce is Shaquanda, a drag persona that encapsulates the upbringing and community of Andre Springer. Springer is a proud New Yorker, Barbadian, performer, cook, and hot-sauce company owner. In this Whole Story, we explore the intersection of Springer’s identities and how they’re represented in a hot sauce and […]