NATURAL FOODS EXPO

BALTIMORE -- When it comes to natural/organic products, top-notch selection and service separates Wild Oats from conventional supermarkets, according to Mary Beth Lewis, the company's chief financial officer.

instream supermarkets," Lewis said at a presentation during the Natural Foods Expo here last month.

Wild Oats, Boulder, Colo., acquired Alfalfa's, Boulder, in July, forming a 39-unit natural foods chain in seven states and British Columbia.

Lewis said that while retail giants like Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., and Vons Cos., Arcadia, Calif., have begun to add natural and organic products to their stores, Wild Oats is better equipped to handle more natural and organic products.

"We are a full-service market, and we carry every [natural and organic] product category," said Lewis.

"[Conventional supermarkets] just don't do justice to it," Michelle Walker, a buyer with Wild Oats, said when asked how supermarkets manage natural and organic sections.

"They've done some homework," Walker said. "But they only sell the top lines and best sellers. They are not full-service. They are not into the nuts and bolts of natural foods."

Conventional supermarkets have the space to carry more natural and organic categories, but often have to decrease facings to offer more SKUs, Walker said.

The foods Wild Oats carries must be all natural and contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, but they must also taste good, Walker said. Because so many new natural and organic products are being introduced, Wild Oats buyers must carefully screen the products to ensure that they meet the chain's standards, according to Walker.