Whole Foods Co-founder John Mackey to Open Wellness Centers

Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey along with other former Whole Foods executives plan to open a chain of wellness centers that will include fitness centers, spas and vegetarian restaurants, according to an article by Bloomberg.

Mackey is a partner in Healthy America LLC, which was incorporated in 2020 in Austin, Texas, and lists former Whole Foods executive Betsy Foster as its CEO and former Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb as a partner along with Mackey, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing showed that investors have offered $31 million in funding for the company, which has been touted as merging culinary, healthcare and wellness under one roof.

The wellness centers reportedly will go by the name Love Life!, and a website for the brand implies launch in 2023, with the first one reportedly opening in Southern California, an anonymous source told Bloomberg. Memberships will be available as will a-la-carte purchases for non-members.

Mackey is retiring as CEO of Whole Foods in September. Amazon purchased Whole Foods in 2018 for $13.7 billion.

Mackey has previously advocated for healthy living, speaking on a November 2020 episode of Freakonomics Radio about how the best solution for health care is to not need it in the first place.  

“The best solution is to change the way people eat, the way they live, the lifestyle, and diet,” Mackey said. “There’s no reason why people shouldn’t be healthy and have a longer health span. A bunch of drugs is not going to solve the problem.”

Mackey co-wrote the book “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business” with economist Raj Sisodia. Sisodia will be the closing keynote speaker at the Club Industry Executive Summit Oct. 17-19 in Chicago. He will speak on "Healing Our World: How the Fitness Industry Can Lead the Way."