Whole Foods 365 Brand - Love it or hate it?

jujubee · #1 (**permalink**) 11-06-2007, 06:42 AM

Have you tried any items from the Whole Foods 365 or 365 Organic brand?

Let us know if you loved it or hated it!

jujubee · #2 (**permalink**) 11-06-2007, 06:45 AM

I'm not a big WF shopper, but we stopped in tonight and they were sampling 365 brand Truffles.

OMG.

It took all of my willpower not to keep going back for more.

Delicious.

captivatedlife · #3 (**permalink**) 11-10-2007, 12:44 AM

We do a lot of 365 shopping - sauces, beans, crackers, soaps, detergents to name a few. I've never had a bad experience.

Devi05 · #4 (**permalink**) 11-15-2007, 03:58 AM

I do buy alot of the 365 Brand, it's great savings and we don't see the diffrence from the other brands.

Claudia

katytibbs · #5 (**permalink**) 11-18-2007, 01:18 AM

My son decided he loves the 365 Apple Sauce- and now won't eat the Santa Cruz that I have coupons for!

bexx09 · #6 (**permalink**) 11-26-2007, 06:33 PM

I have to agree, the 365 products are pretty wonderful!

skyyblonde · #7 (**permalink**) 11-28-2007, 11:53 AM

I buy them and like them, plus they are defintly cheaper. But when I bought the mixed green salad, i liked it, but my husband wasnt crazy about it. Said it was a bit bitter. He likes the Earthbound Farms salad better.

wendypsaves · #8 (**permalink**) 11-28-2007, 11:18 PM

We buy lots of 365 brand products. The 365 organic frozen fruits are always $2.99 a bag - that's the cheapest frozen organic fruit I've been able to find.

noyouyesme · #9 (**permalink**) 12-08-2007, 02:59 PM

i like a lot of the 365 brand
wine - not so much
:)

mch · #10 (**permalink**) 01-05-2008, 01:21 AM

i agree the we buy a lot of 365 and love it - a favorite is the 365 cheese puffs - $1.50 and yummy!

Heather · #11 (**permalink**) 01-09-2008, 08:07 PM

I just tried the 365 Oraganic Chocolate truffles - they are the BEST I have ever had! But where can I get more at?? Is there a web site I can go to?

jujubee · #12 (**permalink**) 01-10-2008, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heather

I just tried the 365 Oraganic Chocolate truffles - they are the BEST I have ever had! But where can I get more at?? Is there a web site I can go to?

They are the best! I don't think you can order their foods online, though. Anyone know for sure?

jehaine · #13 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 07:48 PM

I have liked just about all the 365 stuff I've tried so far. I just tried the lightly salted potato chips this week and they are great.

moonangelSoFla · #14 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 07:00 PM

I work at WFM in Plantation, FL...love the 365 Organic Whole Wheat Pasta and the 365 sodas (raspberry is my favorite). About the truffles---yes they are wonderful

...I had a customer stop me to ask where she could find them (it was the middle of the year) so I brought her to Specialty to ask (they carry all the special chocolate stuff). They told me the truffles only come in during the holiday season, they are not a year round item. HTH...stock up when you see them!

I also take care of payroll for our Florida Bakehouse...they make a lot of the stuff our Bakery depts carry plus the pastries/baked goods the Starbucks down here (Southeast FL) carry too. Love the plain croissants they make!

moon and stars · #15 (**permalink**) 05-08-2008, 10:14 PM

365 organic taco shells - hated them
365 organic milk - loved it until it started going bad the day after opening (we were told we were not the only customers with this complaint)
365 organic animal cookies - liked them

moon and stars · #16 (**permalink**) 05-16-2008, 10:09 PM

365 Organic swiss milk chocolate with rice crisps (chocolate bar, 3oz.) - It's okay, nothing special. Good for a quick chocolate fix, but doesn't hold a candle to Green & Black's.

moon and stars · #17 (**permalink**) 05-21-2008, 03:36 PM

365 Organic Classic organic potato chips with sea salt - Hubby and I both give these a big thumbs *DOWN*. Our 9yo loves them and the 2yo hates them. They're greasy and some bites have no salt while other bites have too much.

hotcouponmama · #18 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 05:07 AM

I'm in Washington DC this week, and we were flipping through the news and they just did a story on Whole Foods - the list of their instore brands coming from CHINA and not being really certified organic (QAI doesn't do any certifying in China, rather, they go through a 3rd party certifier there) and Whole Foods wouldn't comment. They had a printout from WF that was marked "Do not distribute" off all the China products...like the bulk of their products. And it's all right there on the very fine print on the packaging.

Somehow, organic and China don't really go together in my mind.

jujubee · #19 (**permalink**) 05-22-2008, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotcouponmama

I'm in Washington DC this week, and we were flipping through the news and they just did a story on Whole Foods - the list of their instore brands coming from CHINA and not being really certified organic (QAI doesn't do any certifying in China, rather, they go through a 3rd party certifier there) and Whole Foods wouldn't comment. They had a printout from WF that was marked "Do not distribute" off all the China products...like the bulk of their products. And it's all right there on the very fine print on the packaging.

Somehow, organic and China don't really go together in my mind.

Did you see the article I posted about Walmart Organic store brand? Most of them come from China, too. Seems a lot of store brands are coming from China. Scary.

moon and stars · #20 (**permalink**) 05-23-2008, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotcouponmama

And it's all right there on the very fine print on the packaging.

I have very few 365 products, but looked at some of them today very carefully after reading this and they all say "Product of USA". Is there somewhere specific on the packaging I should be looking for the fine print? Or do I have products really made in the USA?

I'm not overly worried about it since I won't be giving them any more business (store closing), but was curious more than anything.

hotcouponmama · #21 (**permalink**) 05-23-2008, 04:28 AM

Some of their products might indeed come from the USA - if they say that, they can't lie about it. The bulk of the items shown last night were frozen goods. And they did say made in China on the label in super find print. But labeling laws require accuracy - I can't imagine WF taking the risk of saying USA and have it really be from china.

jujubee · #22 (**permalink**) 05-23-2008, 04:36 AM

From what I've read, the China goods are mostly frozen produce and beans - black and kidney (I think). And soya.

tagnard · #23 (**permalink**) 06-02-2008, 03:07 PM

I work at WF, and we get a ton of things that say "Do Not Distribute"... Never have I felt WF was pulling a curtain over the customers eyes in these cases.

One case, the details are shoddy, was with some bad beef. There was a recall on some beef for some reason, and a lot of retailers were pulling their product. We didn't need to because our beef did not come from the same source (thanks to WF product quality standards), but we had that information released to the employees so that we would know what was going on in the industry... It said "Do Not Distribute" because it would be foolish for us to advertise a beef recall even though it has nothing to do with our beef! It's like advertising that there's a SARS problem in China while you're sitting in a hospital waiting room in New York- it can only cause panic! But it's good to have informed employees so that when customers come asking questions, we can accurately answer them.

I don't remember anything about any of our organic products being pulled...

summernumber39 · #24 (**permalink**) 07-22-2008, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tagnard

I work at WF, and we get a ton of things that say "Do Not Distribute"... Never have I felt WF was pulling a curtain over the customers eyes in these cases.

One case, the details are shoddy, was with some bad beef. There was a recall on some beef for some reason, and a lot of retailers were pulling their product. We didn't need to because our beef did not come from the same source (thanks to WF product quality standards), but we had that information released to the employees so that we would know what was going on in the industry... It said "Do Not Distribute" because it would be foolish for us to advertise a beef recall even though it has nothing to do with our beef! It's like advertising that there's a SARS problem in China while you're sitting in a hospital waiting room in New York- it can only cause panic! But it's good to have informed employees so that when customers come asking questions, we can accurately answer them.

I don't remember anything about any of our organic products being pulled...

You work at WF? The one here in Houston? I have a question for you. It's kind of embarrassing, but I'll go ahead and give it a go. My friend got me into the whole organic shopping experience (she was tired of me living as a junk food veggie) and she always wants to eat a whole foods. Like sit down and eat. Do people do that? Is it normal?

jujubee · #25 (**permalink**) 07-22-2008, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by summernumber39

You work at WF? The one here in Houston? I have a question for you. It's kind of embarrassing, but I'll go ahead and give it a go. My friend got me into the whole organic shopping experience (she was tired of me living as a junk food veggie) and she always wants to eat a whole foods. Like sit down and eat. Do people do that? Is it normal?

Are there eating places (tables/booths) at your store? My store here (KY) has places to sit and eat. Lots of people seem to do it, but I never have. Not that I wouldn't, I just never had a reason to eat there.

flminivanmama · #26 (**permalink**) 07-22-2008, 11:15 PM

I eat at whole foods all the time. with the kids. we shop and eat our lunch there... :)

as to which 365 I love - the flour is great and the best price around! I use the 100% WW organic flour.

katrina23 · #27 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 07:30 AM

The milk is SOOOO good! All my 365 brand purchases have been good. My eight-year-old especially loves the mild salsa. There's no vinegar in the salsa, and I think that gives it a smoother taste.

ocean_brez · #28 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katrina23

The milk is SOOOO good! All my 365 brand purchases have been good. My eight-year-old especially loves the mild salsa. There's no vinegar in the salsa, and I think that gives it a smoother taste.

Welcome to OGD Katrina! Glad to have you here.

spiderdust · #29 (**permalink**) 08-08-2008, 03:07 AM

Heck, we just ate at Whole Foods today!

For the most part, I'm fairly happy with their 365 products. They're usually the same quality as some name brand items I've bought in the past (Muir Glen, Organic Valley, Clover, etc.), but I can't guarantee that they're local products.

katrina23 · #30 (**permalink**) 08-09-2008, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ocean_brez

Welcome to OGD Katrina! Glad to have you here.

Thank you, thank you very much.

jbailey313 · #31 (**permalink**) 09-12-2008, 04:17 AM

love 365 brands :)

samberlita · #32 (**permalink**) 01-20-2009, 08:07 PM

I love their organic frozen veggies, but you have to be careful as some are not from the US. Asparagus, for example. I also love the 365 black olives. I buy them buy the case to save 10%.

srnappy · #33 (**permalink**) 01-27-2009, 09:51 PM

365 is not too bad! I buy that because it's "generic". You buy name-brand, for the packaging, and that's where they get you!

OHeather · #34 (**permalink**) 01-27-2009, 11:30 PM

I think you have to be careful when you are buying the 365 brand. The packaging is a little deceiving. You have to look closely to see if it's organic or not. That being said...

I just tried the 365 organic Rice Milk. I had been buying the Wild Harvest brand @ Shaw's. Going from one to the other was quite a shock. The 365 had a very heavy feel to it and I think more sweetener. DS did not like it at all the first time I gave it to him. He is ok with it now, but he still won't drink it w/ choc. syrup in it (only warm as hot cocoa). I guess that's a good thing though ;)

alaskajamaica · #35 (**permalink**) 02-03-2009, 10:35 PM

365 soda cola- TERRIBLE!!!!!!! I have had the knock off vitamin water and it's good.

alaskajamaica · #36 (**permalink**) 02-03-2009, 10:36 PM

anyone try the diapers there?

yogafeet · #37 (**permalink**) 02-04-2009, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bexx09

I have to agree, the 365 products are pretty wonderful!

purplemoon2008 · #38 (**permalink**) 05-16-2009, 10:08 PM

We've been shopping at WF more frequently (yay!) and have been trying all different products (365 ~ organic and conventional) and we have not tried a single one that we didn't like. In fact, I am totally in LOVE with the 365 brand water crackers (cracked pepper to be exact!) and they are wicked inexpensive. Love, love, LOVE their bread!! DS loves their sourdough bread for breakfast. It has to be the best smelling sourdough bread we've ever had ~ including bakery bread. The whole house smells wonderful in the a.m. after toasing it! Yum!

thinkgreen · #39 (**permalink**) 05-17-2009, 12:28 AM

In regards to some 365 products coming from China, they're not alone. On the back seam of one of my Cascadian Farms frozen veggie bags (the broccoli I believe) it read 'Product of China'. I think it depends on the time of year b/c I've had other bags that were from the USA. You just really have to pay attention to labeling.

purplemoon2008 · #40 (**permalink**) 07-08-2009, 04:55 PM

Well....I found an item (365, non-organic) that we don't care for; the "saltine" crackers. Ick. I dunno, maybe we got an older box (the expiration date is November 2009, so they should be fine). They are "soft" ~ not much of a crunch to them. They also sort of taste like the box

. I didn't tell DS that the cracker he was having were different...HE told ME! lol! I then tried one. Ick. Didn't care for them.

BTW, if anyone is eating at WF lately, they have an awesome, wonderful, fantastic (can ya' tell I love it??) pannini ~ fresh mozzeralla cheese, sliced tomatoes and basil pesto (at least at my WF). It's HEAVEN! Especially since I sit here, waiting with bated breath, for my own basil. The weather here has not been warm enough (and it's been extremely wet) for it to take off. I've been harvesting a bit here and there for salads, pastas and such, but can't begin to even think about making my own pesto. If mine doesn't do something quick, I'm going to have to go to the farmer's market and buy some

!