Whole Foods Market, with its gleaming displays of organic produce, antibiotic-free meat, and vegan baked goods, has long branded itself as a high-quality grocery retailer — thus earning the nickname Whole Paycheck and a reputation for elitism. But with the economy sagging — bringing with it, according to some analysts, consumer interest in organic food — Whole Foods is aiming to tout itself as affordable. The store is promoting discounts, adding lower-priced generic brands, focusing its advertising to the budget-conscious, and taking customers on value-focused store tours where they’re whisked past the $39.99 triple-cream goat cheese to the $1.50 tofu. So far, however, the store doesn’t seem to have shaken its hoity-toity reputation. “It’s a great store,” says shopper Linda Martino, seeming to speak for much of Whole Foods’ clientele, “but I don’t see it as a value.”
