Whole Foods opened in Gowanus yesterday to stampede-like crowds and consumers happy to finally have somewhere to buy high-end groceries in Brooklyn. The first Brooklyn location is fully Brooklynified, complete with a actual vinyl record store, Roberta’s frozen pizzas and a functioning greenroof garden for hyperlocal local produce. They’re really trying to make nice too, offering $20 off any order over $100, until January 19 if you give your checkout person the code 47119.

We love a party as much as the next blog, but when it comes to actually buying food, can we even afford to walk into a place known as Whole Paycheck for its organic grassfed prices? In time-honored Brokelyn tradition, we did a comparison shop — between Whole Foods and the closest yuppie grocery supplier, the Cobble Hill and Park Slope Union Markets. We shopped for a basket of basic staples: canned beans, olive oil, quinoa, and so on. Where possible, we compared the same brand, but when we couldn’t find it (as with soy milk, chicken broth, sandwich cream cookies) we reached for the cheapest option at the same size, which, at Whole Foods, was frequently the store brand. So how did Whole Foods and Union Market fare in our side-by-side price matchup? The results:

Shopping List:

Organic salad greens

Whole Foods: $2.00 (special)

Union Market $3.99

Rao’s Tomato Sauce

Whole Foods: 2 for $10 (special)

Union Market :$7.99

Organic Boxed Mac & Cheese

Whole Foods: $1.29

Union Market 2.99

Talenti Gelato

Whole Foods: 2 for $7 (sale)

Union Market $5.99

Canned garbanzo, kidney, black beans:

Whole Foods: $0.89

Union Market $1.29

Generic chicken broth (32oz)

Whole Foods: 2 for $5 (organic)

Union Market $3.99 (Free range)

Half Gallon Apple Cider

Whole Foods: 2 for $5 (sale)

Union Market: $4.99

A Dozen Large Cage-free Eggs

Whole Foods: $3.89

Union Market: $4.99

Greek yogurt:

Whole Foods: 5 for $5

Union Market: $1.59

Kettle chips

Whole Foods brand: $1.99

Union Market (Kettle brand): $2.99

Olive bar

Whole Foods: $6.99/lb

Union Market $6.99/lb

Coffee Beans

Whole Foods: Starts at $8.99lb, up to $12.99

Union Market: $8.99/lb

All Purpose Flour, 5lbs

Whole Foods (Organic and non-organic): $2.99

Union Market: $9.99 $6.99

Boxed Soy Milk

Organic Whole Foods Soy Milk (various flavors): $1.69

Union Market (Soy Dream): $2.99

Cookies

Whole Foods Chocolate Sandwich Cremes: $2.99

Union Market (Newman O’s): $3.99

Fresh Salmon

Whole Foods: $9.99/lb (special) for responsibly farm-raised Norwegian salmon

Union Market $17.99/lb for farm-raised organic

Store brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 750 ml

Whole Foods: $7.99

Union Market $8.99

Bananas

Whole Foods: $0.79/lb (Fair Trade)

Union Market: $0.79/lb (Dole)

Avocados

Whole Foods: 2 for $5 (organic)

Union Market: 2 for $3 (Haas)

Cheerios

Whole Foods: $5.99, 14 oz. box

Union Market: $4.39, 14 oz. box

Ancient Harvest Quinoa

Whole Foods: $6.49

Union Market $5.99

Garlic powder

Whole Foods: $1.99

Union Market : $4.99

Whole Foods total: $83.95

Union Market total: $115.39

Whole Foods beats Union Market in almost every head-to-head bout. Some of it no doubt owes to Whole Foods’ huge scale, which a local chain like Union Market couldn’t possibly hope to compete with. Some of it is possibly due to Whole Foods’ attempting to make nice with lower prices when they first show up, like their offer to give you $20 off your bill if you spend $100, until this Sunday at 11pm.

But they’re also different stores. Union Market is geared more towards popping in while walking by, Whole Foods is more of a “load up the Suburban with all of the groceries” kind of store. If you’re going to go to Whole Foods, this is the cheapest possible time to go. When the honeymoon is over in a few months though, it couldn’t hurt to see if the prices found here have stayed the same.

Tags









15 Comments

