Whole Foods Albany – A look at local

Whole Foods Albany has become a part of my weekly shopping routine. There are a few products there I like having on hand, and the food court burger is decent in a pinch. Through the wonders of Instagram, their marketing team has reached out to me on a couple of occasions to invite me to their media events. I’m late to posting about two that I attended, but I’ve been a little busy.

Back in March, the people who run RAD Soap Co. in Menands hosted an event there. They put together a multimedia presentation about their company and announced some new branding they were rolling out. Attendees received a small bag of samples, and I’ve been working my way through them. I do have to say it’ll be tough to switch back to my habitual body wash after trying their Kryptonite Bar, so I probably won’t. They went over the broad strokes of their manufacturing procedures and business plan, and it was really interesting. I’d recommend checking out their stuff if you get the chance to.

More recently, as in this month, Whole Foods hosted an event branded as “A look at local.”

This was another cool event where a handful of local vendors had tables set up with representatives and samples.

I snapped a couple of pictures of the demo tables. A handful of items caught my attention.

• Greek yogurt from grass fed cows from Maple Hill Creamery. (Expensive but incredible)
• Heart Beets juice from Saratoga Juice Bar. (They distribute nationally now!)
• Ithaca Hummus. (A very simple but well done product)
• Emmy’s Organics Macaroons. (Raspberry macroons drizzled with chocolate = heaven)
• Cassia Kream Syrup from Drink More Good. (A silly syrup you dissolve a few drops in seltzer to make a soda-like beverage. They guy kept talking up the use of these syrups in alcoholic cocktails. I’d probably drink it straight, undiluted.)

Whole Foods nationally has the reputation of unreasonably high prices. While the Albany store does have its share of this, there are lots of great deals for a savvy shopper, and they do support many of our local producers. With events like these, it shows their dedication to getting the word out about things that are close to home. I honestly hadn’t heard about half of the producers at this latest event, so it’s cool that I found a few more goodies to throw into the cart when I go shopping.