Whole Foods met with some of its biggest suppliers in Austin on Tuesday in an attempt to quell the concerns and uncertainty that have been brewing since the upscale grocer was acquired by Amazon last year.
At the gathering, the company outlined its new affinity program in which Amazon Prime members will get exclusive discounts on the most popular Whole Foods items and additional savings on regular weekly sales. During the meeting, Whole Foods stressed to its suppliers that buying into the new program was a way for them to grow.
The deal with Amazon has led food companies that sell to Whole Foods to speculate that the e-commerce giant is behind some of the more recent changes at the grocer, including new fees that some have balked at.
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