About the Team: 

The Merchandising team is responsible for developing category goals & strategies and product assortments through the lens of our core customer, ensuring a strong mix of product relevance - distinguishing Whole Foods Market from our competition. Our Merchants are responsible for business financial performance, developing strategies that drive profitable sales through data-rich, customer centric assortment selection, product development, pricing, presentation, and promotion. Merchants collaborate and work closely with Inventory Planning, Operations, Quality Standards, Marketing, and our Suppliers to most effectively deliver on category goals and strategies.  

Intern Responsibilities May Include: 

• Supports and collaborates with stakeholders on achieving category tasks, goals, and strategic Merchandising projects. 

• Supports category assortment planning- including supplier line reviews, assortment analysis, stakeholder collaboration. 

• With guidance, engages with support team and other stakeholders to translate assortment plans into merchandising and/or product development plans. Supports relevant project execution or process improvement. 

• Maintains list of supplier contacts and supports supplier communication as needed. 

• Maintains and updates appropriate system(s) content and helps with other documentation and reporting as assigned. 

• Facilitates information sharing between all applicable stakeholders. 

• Assists with sample testing and trial, and sample room maintenance. 

• Communicates, represents, and upholds Whole Foods Market core values and leadership principles to all stakeholders. 

• Provides accurate and complete information in reports and communications. 

• Accountable for positively impacting team collaboration and group effectiveness. 

• Participate in projects and shadow meetings related to Merchandising. 

• Support in development of Store Team member product and strategy program. 

• Proactively seeks guidance and support as required.  

• Performs other duties as assigned. 

You Will Bring:  

• Team player with a positive attitude and ability to manage ambiguity. 

• Communicates structured information in a clear, concise, and organized fashion. 

• Strong understanding of Retail Math. 

• Strong skills utilizing Microsoft Office applications- specifically Excel. 

• Experience with analyzing reporting and visualizing data to identify issues, trends, or exceptions to drive improvement of results and find solutions. 

• High degree of professional presence and ability to represent Whole Foods Market in supplier facing communications. 

• Detail-oriented with strong planning and execution skills. 

• Self-motivated and take initiative to ensure deadlines are met. 

• Ability to work independently and in a group. 

• Ability to deal effectively and comfortably with various stakeholders. 

• Ability to maintain confidentiality. 

• Passion for Organics, Fair Trade, Quality Standards and the Natural Foods industry. 

• Demonstrates intellectual and analytical curiosity. 

• Demonstrates a desire for continuous learning and sharpening this skill. 

Education & Experience: 

• Currently pursuing or recently completed (within the past year) a bachelor's degree, Retail Merchandising, Business or Finance majors preferred. 

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.