Application deadline: Feb 8, 2026

The Principal Forager supports Whole Foods Market’s status as the growth destination for founders and early-stage brands. This role is focused on discovering local and emerging brands and supporting community connection through taste of place. Success is measured by creating a locally relevant customer experience and establishing an emerging brand pipeline. Serves as an industry expert and engages with the local and emerging supplier community through various platforms, including trade-show supplier summits and the Local and Emerging Accelerator Program (LEAP). Nurtures relationships and meets suppliers where they are to provide the right tools for brand growth, development, and Local advocacy.

Key job responsibilities
• Ensures that Whole Foods Market’s customers have an unparalleled locally relevant experience by supporting relevant brands and surfacing geographical taste preferences.
• Partners cross-functionally with Merchants, Marketing, and Retail/Area Operations to drive speed to market, strong execution in stores, and storytelling.
• Supports the development of local and emerging suppliers to onboard, activate and grow including quality standards compliance, distribution, promo planning, demo activation, and marketing support.
• Leverages experience to contribute to local and emerging brands team strategy development and key initiatives.
• Leads product development projects and advises internal and external stakeholders in product and innovation development in support of Category Merchant strategies.
• Develops local and emerging brands team product and innovation across Center Store, based on insights and analytics, category strategies, customer and product trends, competitive landscape, and Whole Foods Market differentiators.
• Leverages knowledge of customer, market, data, industry trends and emerging challenges and develops insight-driven recommendations for local and emerging brand assortment and leadership consideration.
• Supports the development of local and emerging brands promotional strategy and planning, including supporting marketing initiatives, planning, and executing key promotional events and reacting based on sales performance and the competitive landscape.
• Supports execution of category pricing strategies and helps ensure financially sound and value adding pricing tactics.
• Leads others in the evaluation and interpretation of complex issues in purchasing, procurement, contract, delivery, quality, pricing, and other issues.
• Takes complex business analysis and projects from concept to completion and makes results accessible and relevant to business users at all levels.
• Works with leadership to identify industry events and develop strategies for attendance, panel participation, networking, and other events.
• Plays a leadership role (formally and informally) working with others, in groups, in cross-functional settings and with diverse stakeholders internally and externally.
• Provides project leadership on various merchandising initiatives and ability to structure, plan, and lead projects.
• Viewed as a subject matter expert and thought leader within the merchandising organization.


Skills:
• Demonstrates strong understanding of Whole Foods Market business, food retail industry, and the business models of key strategic partners and competitors.
• Demonstrates strategic understanding of Center Store retail business objectives and competitive strengths and challenges, takes projects from concept to completion and make results accessible and relevant to business users at all levels.
• Able to identify how strategic direction will be achieved by setting short- and long-term goals and objectives; focuses effort and resources on the strategic priorities with the greatest potential for positive impact.
• Applies experience and judgement to establish criteria and systems (including lead and lag measures) to track ongoing progress toward goals and follows up on assigned responsibilities.
• Strong proficiency with data analysis and able to understand statistics and modeling of consumer behavior.
• Leverages skill set and exemplary judgement to make independent business decisions and deliver results.
• Able to drive product development and innovation ideas and ensure sustainability in response to changes and feedback.
• Attuned to category business performance; understands impact on total team, resolves underlying issues, and delivers financial results.
• Leverages proficiency to serve as a resource across the team for pulling financial reports, analyzing business trends, and assessing underlying drivers of results.
• Able to identify areas for continuous process and system improvement.
• Serves as a voice of WFM with suppliers and external audiences.
• Able to determine action steps and milestones required to implement a specific business initiative; can adjust activities or timelines as circumstances warrant.
• Ensures that those responsible for implementing a strategic initiative have role clarity and accountability for required actions and outputs and the direction and authority to act in a way consistent with organizational values.
• Able to identify opportunities to include others in the decision-making process, and invite others to share candid thoughts, ideas, or perspectives.
• Conveys messages logically, simply, succinctly, and at the right pace; does not digress; is in command of the message; demonstrates excellent interpersonal communication skills and levels of tact, diplomacy, and confidentiality.
• Effectively presents to a wide range of audiences (direct reports, peers, leadership, suppliers, industry engagement), tailoring communication to audience needs.
• Exceptional change management skills, works with merchandising leadership to help drive change and support WFM Category Management evolution.
• Expertly navigates through ambiguity given a blend of experience, input, and intuition.
• Activates WFM leadership principles, core values, and commitment to customer service at a leadership level to champion the mission, vision, and strategy of the organization.