Organic Shopping: Mariano’s or Whole Foods?

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Mariano’s #cbias #SocialFabric.  I have a difficult time shopping anywhere else unless the deals are fantastic or if I’m short on time (since the one near us isn’t completed yet!)

So about four months ago, I fell in love with a little place called Mariano’s in Chicago.  From Vero Gelato to getting everything we need in one place, Mariano’s has become a staple in our shopping routine. As I’ve talked to friends about my love of this new type of grocery store, a few of them asked me about Mariano’s offering of organic & natural items. From my own experience, I typically purchase those items at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s as I need them and it never really occurred to me that Mariano’s might have everything we need in that department also.

Recently, I had the opportunity to compare shopping at Mariano’s with shopping at Whole Foods for organic & natural products. Armed with a $50 budget at each store, I was determined to make each cent count (which is why I brought reusable shopping bags – each store rewards you with change back on your order if you use them!) I began with my list of the essentials – organic produce, organic milk, meat,  pantry goods and other natural products. Time to go shopping!

Mariano’s

With endless options for meal planning, hot meals, cold meals, fresh breads, desserts, and a grocery store full of organic and non-organic products, Mariano’s is a one-stop shop for everything your family needs.

The organic produce sections offered many varieties.

Including a plethora of greens to choose from as well as the traditional produce choices that you would need for weekly meals and cooking.

Mariano’s also offers delicious handmade desserts for any occasion, so when you’re looking to sweeten things up – you don’t really have to look any further.

Perhaps your kids need a distraction while you shop! This kids’ event was perfect for the little ones in your family AND helped to teach kids a few healthy habits for lunch time.

Now let’s get to business!

Here is a list of my entire Mariano’s purchase –

My grand total?

{Drum roll please!}

$49.85!

When my purchase pushed over the $50 mark, I then handed the cashier my Mariano’s Rewards Card and reusable bags and she deducted my savings. The end result was fifteen cents under budget! The foods pictured below are all USDA Organic & will be perfect for our family’s meals this week.

Time to Compare!

Whole Foods

I mirrored everything I shopped for at Mariano’s for the most part.

You’ll notice a few differences, namely that the list at Whole Foods is shorter. I’ll break that down in a minute.

My grand total at Whole Foods was $55.05 and that was even after cutting a few things from my list. $5.00 and change over budget with less food as well!

So What’s the Difference?

1. Price – With the exception of one item (eggs were one cent cheaper at Whole Foods), every single item at Whole Foods was more expensive than at Mariano’s. Add up that savings on each item and you end up saving quite a bit of money! A few noticeable breakdowns:

Blueberries

$3.00 at Mariano’s versus $4.99 at Whole Foods  – a savings of $1.99

Cascadian Farm Peanut Pretzel Chewy Granola Bars

$3.00 at Mariano’s versus $4.99 at Whole Foods  – a savings of $1.99

Generic Brand Toasted Oats (Morning O’s)

 $2.99 at Mariano’s versus $3.99 at Whole Foods – a savings of $1.00

Generic Brand 1% Milk (1 gallon)

$4.99 at Mariano’s versus $5.99 at Whole Foods  – a savings of $1.00 (Mariano’s brand is also $2.00 LESS than Organic Valley milk)

Compared with Whole Foods’ brand of milk for $1.00 more

Stonyfield French Vanilla Fat Free Yogurt

$3.00 at Mariano’s versus $4.49 at Whole Foods – a savings of $1.49

All Natural Cedar’s Hummus

$4.00 for 2 – 8 oz. containers at Mariano’s versus $3.99 for ONE 8 oz. container from Whole Foods – double the product for the value

The price breakdown continues and as my bill was being rung up, I opted not to include the Morning O’s and the spinach brand was not comparable for the price either. With all of the savings, I ended up with more food for less money. I also was only able to get one container of hummus at the Whole Foods price.

2. Product Offerings & Placement  – after searching Whole Foods high and low for the same type of tomato as what I had purchased at Mariano’s, I stopped a Whole Foods worker who informed me that they just didn’t carry that type. The only organic tomatoes they offered at that time were small cherry types & huge Heirloom tomatoes. The tomatoes were then left off my Whole Foods list since they didn’t carry them.

For organic shoppers, this can make a huge difference in shopping strategy. I also didn’t like that all of the Bob’s Red Mill products were scattered throughout the store in a respective section. Since that’s a brand I enjoy, I found it much easier to find all products under that brand in one place, like at Mariano’s. #MyMarianos #cbias #shop 

3. Availability of reasonably priced non-organic goods – having not shopped at Mariano’s for organic products before, I stopped two female shoppers who were shopping together in the organic produce section. I asked them why they shopped at Mariano’s for organic products rather than Whole Foods. One of them quipped that shopping at Whole Foods really meant “Whole Paycheck.” They then went on to tell me that not only are most of the organic goods cheaper at Mariano’s, but that they liked the flexibility of being able to buy reasonably priced non-organic goods as well without having to go to yet another store. 

I spent more at Whole Foods and walked away with less food for my money. As if the savings of the regular prices was not enough, Mariano’s also offers shoppers the bonus of doubling coupons on Wednesdays which means that some of your items may end up being even cheaper than what I paid on my shopping trip!

Where do you like to shop for your organic or natural products and foods? How do you save money on products that are organic?