Whole Foods Market’s UK store portfolio will grow to 12 outlets across London by 2026 as part of major shake-up of the Amazon Fresh brand, the online retail giant announced today. 

Amazon says its focus for grocery retail in the UK will now be its online channels including its main Amazon.co.uk store and Amazon Fresh online operation, together with its delivery partnerships with Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland, and Gopuff. Amazon says it is responding to a growing consumer appetite for buying groceries online, with new research from PwC suggesting that Britons are expected to conduct over 25% of their food spending online by 2030. 

As part of this re-focussing Amazon will close all of its 19 physical Amazon Fresh stores across London and its one store outside the capital, in Sevenoaks, Kent. However the retailer says it will convert five Amazon Fresh locations to Whole Foods Market stores as part of the process. 

‘Customers love the Whole Foods Market store experience’
In a statement issued to today, Amazon said: “Whole Foods Market is a pioneer and leader in natural and organic foods that are carefully vetted and sourced from trusted suppliers, including Sourced for Good produce and floral; animal-welfare certified meat; sustainable wild-caught and Responsibly Farmed seafood; and grocery, bakery, and prepared foods departments filled with favourites from 365 by Whole Foods Market, local and emerging brands, and a growing selection of Regenerative Organic Certified items. Customers tell us they love shopping the Whole Foods Market physical store experience.” 

With the proposed addition of these five stores, the opening of a Whole Foods Market in Chelsea earlier this year, and an additional store in Greater London by the end of 2026, Whole Foods Market says it plans to be operating 12 stores in the UK by 2026. 

Main image: Whole Foods Market’s Chelsea store, which opened earlier this year