Job Description

Our mission at Whole Foods Market is to nourish people and the planet, but also- future talent. We are excited to offer our 2025 Summer Internship Program to purpose-driven students seeking to make a difference in their work and in their community. Our internship program is based in Austin, Texas, down the street from our original Whole Foods Market store. Our interns don’t get us coffee; instead, they enjoy free coffee and tea while working on meaningful projects that impact our internal and external stakeholders.

About the Team:

The Research and Development team is responsible for developing food, beverage, body care and home essentials products for Whole Foods Market’s Exclusive Brands. This team drives ideation, development, and commercialization of products. The team is made up of Product Developers, Sensory, our Innovation Kitchen Team and a Packaging Engineer. This role will work primarily with our Sensory team but will also gain experience with all areas within the Research and Development team. 

Intern Responsibilities May Include:

• Collect and analyze sensory data. 

• Work with the sensory team to build a new sensory capability and document the process. 

• Create and document Innovation Kitchen processes that maximize efficiency. 

• Participate in product cuttings for new and existing products as part of a cross functional team. 

• Assist with set-up and clean-up of product cuttings and other product reviews. 

• Assist with market research by doing competitive shopping or using 3rd party research tools. 

• Assist with Product Development review of specifications. 

• Prepare products and references as necessary. 

You Will Bring:

• A natural curiosity about food and the way people think about it. 

• A passion for food, beverage, and the culinary world. 

• Willingness to try, sample and evaluate all types of foods and beverages. 

• Motivation to take initiative. 

• Skilled with Microsoft Excel. 

• Familiarity with statistics and willingness to learn new skills, experience with XL Stat a plus. 

• Comfort with doing something different every day. 

Education & Experience:

• Currently pursuing or recently completed (within the past year) a bachelor’s degree, Food Science majors preferred. 

• Experience in the food industry, such as a restaurant or manufacturing facility a plus. 

Internship Program Details:

Our Summer 2025 Internships are paid for 10-weeks, full-time (40 hours/week) between June 2, 2025-August 8, 2025. The internships will be based in Austin, Texas on a hybrid schedule and are not open to remote candidates at this time.

Program Highlights:

• Weekly Summer Event Series: Weekly events for interns to connect with one another and get immersed in the Whole Foods Market culture. Previous events have included distribution center tours, cheese tastings, volunteering at the Central Texas Food Bank, supplier visits, women in leadership panel and more!
• Intern Buddy: Opportunity to be paired with a Whole Foods Market team member outside of our team that can be a go to resource during your summer.
• Team Member Coffee Chats: Network 1:1 with Whole Foods Market team members in your field or area of interest for a 20 – 30-minute coffee chat.
• Internship Expo: End of internship presentations where you can share what projects you worked on during the summer with the entire company!

Application Review: Our internship applications will be open in September and October 2024. We will review applications on a rolling basis so next steps and interviews may not be communicated until November or December 2024.

At Whole Foods Market, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all Team Members and candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Whole Foods Market hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.

Whole Foods Market works with job sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter to promote opportunities at our company. Please be aware that other career sites may not be accurate or up to date and may even be fraudulent. We encourage and recommend all candidates to apply via our site.