Re: Whole Foods needs some educating

January 25, 2006

(Macha -- edited to remove bottompost)

I spoke to the manager of the Plantation, Fl store over a year ago about their

oils and incense...they pretty much passed the buck to the higher ups and I

never heard anything back. Hopefully you'll have better luck. :-)

January 25, 2006

Hi Anya,

You're so right about Whole Foods!! I worked in their new store

(international headquarters above - quite a complex) through an

association with The Crossings (a spa and learning center here in

Austin) as an aromatherapist. I had hopes of influencing some of the

buying, but the corporate engine is SO big for this outfit, that I never

got to talk to the " right " people. I really think the best way is to do

what you're doing.....customer input. Maybe if we all do it, they would

get the message. Natural perfumery would be such a natural flow of the

basic philosophy of Whole Foods - and they certainly have a full line of

beauty and body care products!

Scentgarden Aromatics

Fine Essential Oils & Custom Blends

....Now supplying the Artisan Perfumer

www.scentgarden.com

January 25, 2006

At 10:32 AM 1/25/2006, you wrote:

>Hi Anya,

>You're so right about Whole Foods!! I worked in their new store

>(international headquarters above - quite a complex) through an

>association with The Crossings (a spa and learning center here in

>Austin) as an aromatherapist. I had hopes of influencing some of the

>buying, but the corporate engine is SO big for this outfit, that I never

>got to talk to the " right " people. I really think the best way is to do

>what you're doing.....customer input. Maybe if we all do it, they would

>get the message. Natural perfumery would be such a natural flow of the

>basic philosophy of Whole Foods - and they certainly have a full line of

>beauty and body care products!

Hi :

They're the largest retailer of natural goods in the *world*. I wrote to

their CEO this morning, via fax. I'm really going to advocate on this

issue, and any NP members who can work at the local or regional level would

really assist us in educating them about natural perfume. To your store

manager, drop the name Mackey, CEO -- and let them know he has been

contacted about the issue.

>

Anya

http://.com

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January 25, 2006

At 10:25 AM 1/25/2006, you wrote:

>(Macha -- edited to remove bottompost)

>

>I spoke to the manager of the Plantation, Fl store over a year ago about

>their oils and incense...they pretty much passed the buck to the

>higher ups and I never heard anything back. Hopefully you'll have

>better luck. :-)

Talk to the store manager, fill out the form, ask for it to be escalated to

regional.

Anya

http://.com

The premier site on the Web to discover the beauty of Natural Perfume

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Join to study natural perfumery

January 26, 2006

>They also have a line of garishly-dyed

> incense sticks. Banana coconut musk, anyone?! Gak.

>

Well, on the bright side, at least they don't have any civet in it!

That would just be going WAY too far. Elvis might've liked incense

with a burnt banana smell, though, or maybe something with a Demerol-

Meperidine accord. Talk about a four-hour fix-ative.

January 26, 2006

I work for Whole Foods. It is true that there are no natural perfumes,although

there are many body care products that are scented with essential oils(as well

as many that are scented synthetically). There are essential oils,and absolutes

available,at least at my store,in fact I'm looking into getting some Jasmine

sambac absolute. I,in fact don't work in the nutrition department,or " Whole

Body " as we call it,where the scented stuff is sold(I work in the deli). I

suggest to keep filling out those suggestion cards,and if I can find out who

companies talk to to get their products sold here I will pass along the info. My

suggestion would be to those who sell natural perfumes to try to get their

products in here. Be pit bulls! LOL! I will ask around and keep everyone

posted.

---------------------------------

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January 27, 2006

At 06:45 PM 1/26/2006, you wrote:

>I work for Whole Foods.

Hey, all these years, and I never realized where you worked, . That is

a nice atmosphere to work in, everyone is very pleasant there (corporate

policy, I know, but it does make for nice shopping.)

>It is true that there are no natural perfumes,although there are many body

>care products that are scented with essential oils(as well as many that

>are scented synthetically). There are essential oils,and absolutes

>available,at least at my store,in fact I'm looking into getting some

>Jasmine sambac absolute.

What I'm going to ask them is to at least have a balance. Of course, I'd

like to see them do away with the treacly fake oils, but if they at least

started carrying some naturals, that would be good. You can buy

conventional, sprayed produce there, or choose the organic. Should have the

same choice in fragrances. I do like some of the body care products -- the

lavender hair stuff I got was very authentic EO, and their EO lines are

just fine. Are you having to pay the high retain for the sambac absolute?

How do the prices compare to say, whitelotusaromatics, scentgarden,

samarabotane, or some of the other suppliers on this list? They have great

prices. And great quality. What line has the sambac? Aura Cacia?

>I,in fact don't work in the nutrition department,or " Whole Body " as we

>call it,where the scented stuff is sold(I work in the deli). I suggest to

>keep filling out those suggestion cards,and if I can find out who

>companies talk to to get their products sold here I will pass along the

>info. My suggestion would be to those who sell natural perfumes to try to

>get their products in here. Be pit bulls! LOL! I will ask around and keep

>everyone posted.

I agree, although as you know, mimicing my sweet dog, Roxy, I am more of a

poodle than a pit bull, but I can bite ankles pretty good! Poodles can be

as tenacious as pit bulls, but with better hair and nicer dispositions --

and a friendly approach to Mr. Mackey is key *wink*.

Let's ask that natural perfumes be given a spot in WF, and gently remind

him that the lines they carry are really streetcorner huckster type

" fragrances " .

I faxed the CEO. Here is the info, if you wish to do the same, and perhaps

we could have a campaign started! *light bulb goes off*

YES, we should start a letter-writing campaign. I find faxes more effective

than emails, but here is all the info:

Mackey, CEO Whole Foods

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/leadership_board.html

National Office

Whole Foods Market, Inc.

550 Bowie Street

Austin, TX 78703-4677

512.477.4455

512.477.5566 voicemail

512.482.7000 fax

Can't find his email address, so I used the fax number above.

Anya

http://.com

The premier site on the Web to discover the beauty of Natural Perfume

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Join to study natural perfumery

February 2, 2006

<Hey, all these years, and I never realized where you worked, . That is

a nice atmosphere to work in, everyone is very pleasant there (corporate

policy, I know, but it does make for nice shopping.)>

Yes,that is where I work. I guess I've never mentioned it,I remember writing

about work,I just never mentioned where. It is pretty nice,although I'm getting

pretty sick of what I'm doing here-I've been doing it since the store opened six

years ago(wow,it's been six years). You know,its a job,with it's good points and

bad,I get paid relativly well for what I do and the benefits are top notch.

<Of course, I'd

like to see them do away with the treacly fake oils>,

I would too! I've always been kind of confused with the store selling all

those fake scents. I think perhaps people either aren't aware that they are

fake,maybe they think since it says coconut or lilac on the bottle,that it must

come from a coconut or lilac flowers(after all,I did at one time),or they really

aren't that concerned if a scent is synthetic or natural. Maybe a lot of people

just aren't completely strict when it comes to " natural " products.

< Are you having to pay the high retain for the sambac absolute?

How do the prices compare to say, whitelotusaromatics, scentgarden,

samarabotane, or some of the other suppliers on this list? They have great

prices. And great quality. What line has the sambac? Aura Cacia?>

The jasmine sambac is from Simplers. I don't usually care for much of their

stuff,but I did have their J.S. once and I liked it. Actually,I haven't heard

anything. They must have forgotten me! Actually,I've forgotten about it too. I

will have to ask again. I have actually have been very busy here,and been

sick,so I haven't had time to visit the other departments or ask about who to

talk to about getting product in here.

<I agree, although as you know, mimicing my sweet dog, Roxy, I am more of a

poodle than a pit bull, but I can bite ankles pretty good! Poodles can be

as tenacious as pit bulls, but with better hair and nicer dispositions --

and a friendly approach to Mr. Mackey is key *wink*.>

Well pit bulls sure are tenacious,so that is the metaphor I was thinking of.

ly,I'd like to think of myself as a prettier dog!LOL!

<I faxed the CEO. Here is the info, if you wish to do the same, and perhaps

we could have a campaign started! *light bulb goes off*

YES, we should start a letter-writing campaign. I find faxes more effective

than emails, but here is all the info:

Mackey, CEO Whole Foods

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company/leadership_board.html

National Office

Whole Foods Market, Inc.

550 Bowie Street

Austin, TX 78703-4677

512.477.4455

512.477.5566 voicemail

512.482.7000 fax

Can't find his email address, so I used the fax number above.>

Yes,a letter writing campaign would be a good idea. The company needs to know

that there is both a market out there and people to supply that market. So

write,write,write!!

May 28, 2006

Back in late January, I posted about how my local Whole Foods stopped

carrying the lovely natural perfumes from Ecco Bella, and how I called and

wrote and worked at educating the local buyer as to the need for WF to

carry them, since all they had on the shelves now were synthetic perfumes.

It worked! I was there on Friday, and the Ecco Bellas are back ;-) Ecco

Bella is a pioneer company in the natural fragrance and body care industry,

and WF also carries their lotions and hair care stuff, etc. It's also good

to see that WF does respond to consumer pressure, so never let something

like this slide by -- letters and calls do work!

>

Anya

http://artisannaturalperfumers.com The Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild

http://.com The premier site on beauty of Natural Perfume

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May 28, 2006