A man claims he recently spotted Whole Foods’ 365 brand mustard being sold at Sprouts Farmers Market.
David Something (@phockmylife) posted his supermarket findings on TikTok. He received over 83,000 views.
He explains his confusion in the text overlay of the video.
“This kept me up all night,” he claims.
“Sprouts is selling Whole Foods mustard,” he writes.
In the short video, the shopper stands in front of what appears to be the clearance shelf at a Sprouts supermarket. There are a number of discounted items on the shelf, including Blue Bottle Coffee beans, bags of nuts, and of course, the mustard in question.
Although the shopper says he’s shopping at Sprouts, the nine jars of Dijon mustard are clearly labeled with 365 branding, which is confusing for the shopper.
In the caption, the shopper asks, “Is everything a LIE?!”
He also wonders whether private labels from supermarket brands, like 365 by Whole Foods, are all the same products.
Viewers try to provide answers
The presence of Whole Foods mustard at Sprouts had the TikToker perturbed. But several viewers tried to make sense of the situation.
Many viewers posited that although the mustard comes in differently branded bottles, it’s all made by the same label.
One viewer explained that the issue affected nearly all supermarkets.
“It’s all the same private label. Trader Joe’s, Aldi, sprouts, 365,” they claimed.
However, another viewer disagreed, arguing, “No, I just bought sprouts mustard and it’s sprouts brand and in a different shaped bottle.”
@phockmylife Is everything a LIE?! Are their private labels the same products?! 🥺 Am I Care by Cara now?! #wholefoods #organic #fyp #foodtiktok ♬ Maps – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Another viewer offered a more plausible explanation. They blamed the distributor, UNFI.
“UNFI (a big natural foods distributor) probably dropped off the wrong box! This used to happen at my non-Whole Foods store & we got to keep the products,” the viewer said.
Another viewer agreed, saying, “Yep my whole foods gets sprouts stuff all the time. it looks like someone just threw it on a clearance rack and the few customers that tried to buy it they probably just got told to take it for free.”
A third viewer who seemingly works at a supermarket said, “We always send our mispicks back with the driver next time he drops off a pallet. I wish we got to keep some of the stuff they accidentally send.”
Are Whole Foods and Sprout products the same?
Regulars at supermarkets like Whole Foods and Sprouts will be familiar with the in-house brands of both stores. Whole Foods’ 365 label and Sprouts’ private label both offer wholesome products at a lower cost while accounting for a significant share of the stores’ revenues. But at the end of the day, many customers are curious about whether the products inside the packaging are all the same.
The short answer is that it is unclear. Neither Whole Foods nor Sprouts manufacture the items sold under the name of their in-house brands. However, there is also no public information about the manufacturers these companies use. This is because Whole Foods and Sprouts keep the information under lock and key.
Although it’s unclear who makes these products, food and beverage website Daily Meal argues that customers benefit from the arrangement. Writing about Whole Foods’ 365 brand, the website says, “if it’s anything like Costco, we wouldn’t be surprised if the store partners with well-known brands that anonymize their items for Whole Foods’ benefit. As such, you could be getting a quality product at a bargain price.”
The Daily Dot reached out to the TikTok creator via Instagram direct message, as well as to both Whole Foods and Sprouts via email for further information.
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