Austin, Texas, U.S.A.-based supermarket chain Whole Foods recently expanded its sustainability efforts via its new Seafood Code of Conduct, further solidifying its commitment to sustainable sourcing across all of its products.
Whole Foods Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Perishables Wesley Rose, in an interview with SeafoodSource, said the code of conduct further aligns the company on its mission of sustainably sourcing products. Rose has been with Whole Foods for 27 years and got his start in seafood before eventually rising to his current position heading up sourcing for all perishable products at the company.
“I have a long tenured history within the seafood part of Whole Foods Market; that’s really where I started. I worked in the Fresh Pond store in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I started behind the seafood counter,” Rose said. “So, certainly, seafood is near and dear to my heart.”
Rose said throughout his career, Whole Foods has been a mission-driven company with the goal of nourishing people and the planet, and for seafood, that objective has been the foundation for its sourcing policies.
“If it’s going to be on the shelf at Whole Foods, it has to meet a bar,” Rose said. “We are here not just for today but for the future and future generations and making sure that there’s opportunities and options for them for years to come."
Rose acknowledged that the current trading market is more complicated than usual thanks to potential tariffs which could shift procurement, but from Whole Foods’ perspective, the company will continue to focus on the things it can control.
“We’re just staying laser-focused on those things that are controllable, like we have a procurement team here that every day is working with suppliers to deliver high-quality, sustainable seafood at the best possible cost,” Rose said. “That work will continue no matter what those market dynamics are.”
Sustainability is just one aspect of Whole Foods’ sourcing policy; it’s also interested in expanding its seafood offerings and ensuring it continues to have innovative new products on store shelves.
“We’re a growing business, we’re opening new stores every years, we opened our new small format store, so we’re looking for new and different ways of going to market,” Rose said. “Whether it be pre-packaged options – like the skin packed option has been really big for seafood from a shelf-life perspective.”
Rose said as the company looks for those new and innovative products, Seafood Expo North America presents an opportunity to meet with its suppliers all in one place while also getting a read on what products are out there.
“It’s one of the great things about the seafood show upcoming; it’s to see that innovation, to see how a lot of companies spend their R&D money on what’s next, and how to solve problems for customers around convenience and flavors,” Rose said. “I’m really looking for that and engaging in that space to make sure that we have new and exciting things to offer on the shelf; we always want to have a nice drumbeat of new and engaging items because we have a lot of shoppers who are coming to us every week. They love to see new things on the shelf.”
Rose said he’s been attending the show since 2002, at first as a seafood team leader working behind the counter. Now, his role has shifted, but he said he makes sure the entire team attending has time to walk the show floor.
“That’s all about engaging with new suppliers, meeting new people, and also seeing the innovation side of things, there’s always something.” Rose said. “The show does a great job of highlighting new products, but I think it’s really as you walk up and down those aisles, there’s so much you can find in that space. We have some really great examples of new supplier relationships and things that have come out of that that have done really well for us.”
