Food Fight

Ozark Natural Foods appears to be gearing up for an organic-foods war with Whole Foods Market by arming itself with a weapon of awe-inspiring power — the label.

That’s right. The local co-op, in what appears to be an attempt to shore up support among its vendor base in Northwest Arkansas, will start labeling products that are made here. Its hope is to increase sales and make local farmers so happy they won’t defect to Whole Foods. While the labels might appear as soon as August, the official launch is Sept. 13, about a year before Texas-based Whole Foods comes to town.

The labelling program, called the Principal Six Cooperative Trade Movement, is used by local co-ops across the country. Called Principal Six for short, the program employs a red and black P6 logo adorned with leaves. When a consumer sees a product with the fancy logo, they’ll want to buy local rather than buy the product trucked in from Texas by United Natural Foods Inc., Ozark Natural Foods’ chief supplier.

Whispers applauds Ozark Natural Foods for adopting a new labelling program that could put money in the pockets of local producers. But with Whole Foods marching this way, it looks like the co-op is rallying the troops in preparation for a fight.