Market Basket

What Could Whole Foods Learn From Market Basket?

More for your dollar!
More for your dollar! Photo: istockphoto

Today the Herald has a story all about Market Basket’s fantastic success, which persists even though the Demoulas family, who runs the chain, really despises one another. Plus their prices are shockingly low — an attribute that appeals to a wide demographic which includes coupon-cutting grannies, starving students, bohemian hipsters, and parents with wan, sticky children dripping from their shopping carts. While people just love to hate Whole Foods, it seems that everyone adores folksy, no-frills, more-for-your-dollar MB.

Why? Well, according to Kantar Retail in Cambridge, as per the Herald, “The Market Basket name is so entrenched in the region, and the chain’s price competitiveness is so entrenched in this area.” Also: People go not just for the “prices” but also for the “assortment.”

What, exactly, might one find at one’s local Market Basket that might not be available elsewhere? We’ve found impossibly cheap (and odor-free!) fish, a wide array of brightly-frosted birthday cakes, and some fine-lookin’ rotisserie chicken. You can even find very nice produce, if you know how to politely elbow foraging seniors aside without incident.

All this, and they don’t even advertise! What do you love about Market Basket? Do you think Jamaica (Com)Plainers would be annoyed if MB moved to the neighborhood? Is it like comparing apples and oranges? Or sale-price scrod with sushi? You tell us.

Despite Battles, Market Basket Nets Big Success [Herald]

Related: JP Residents Want Culturally Appropriate Food at Whole Foods

What Could Whole Foods Learn From Market Basket?