{
  "id": 15870514,
  "title": "Whole Foods used to be ‘Whole Paycheck.’ Now it’s the hottest home for affordable beauty",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/whole-foods-used-to-be-whole-paycheck-now-its-the-hottest-home-for",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-21T09:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91611364/whole-foods-affordable-beauty-expansion"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The beauty section at Whole Foods just got a makeover, with a plethora of new brands and products now gracing the shelves. Alongside traditional staples like Pacha bath bombs and Dr. Bronner's soaps, customers can now find electrolyte water cream from Cocokind, a moisturizer promising glassy skin, and a viral skin spray from Magic Molecule. Indie Lee, a brand pioneers in clean skincare, has also recently debuted its exclusive line, Indie Lee Botanicals, exclusively at Whole Foods.\n\nWhole Foods Market, once synonymous with organic produce and affluent neighborhoods, has quietly transformed into a beauty destination over the past two years. Currently, the retailer sells products from 100 brands, a significant increase from Sephora's 400 brands. Emerging beauty brands are competing for shelf space by partnering with Whole Foods merchants and reformulating their products to avoid the 200 ingredients banned by the grocer.\n\nThe push into beauty is strategically timed for Whole Foods, as economic volatility and inflation have made consumers more cautious with their spending. Even wealthier shoppers seeking cost-cutting measures are gravitating towards lower-priced grocers. While Whole Foods is known for its pricey groceries, its beauty aisles are surprisingly budget-friendly, well below the prices at premium beauty stores like Sephora or Bluemercury.\n\nWhole Foods is betting on capturing a larger share of budget-conscious shoppers' dollars by offering clean, high-quality beauty products at lower prices. So far, the strategy seems successful: in-store customers are continuing to buy merchandise, but are shifting some purchases from groceries to beauty products. Senior category merchant for beauty, Kat Stevenson, notes that customers aren't reducing their spending, but rather changing the way they spend.",
  "summary": "The beauty section at my local Whole Foods just got a glow-up. Steps from the entrance, just past the fruits and vegetables, the beauty aisle is now overflowing with dozens of new brands and products. Alongside the Pacha bath bombs and Dr. Bronner’s soaps that have long been staples, you can find Cocokind’s electrolyte water cream, a moisturizer that promises to give you the glassy skin that’s so…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}