Ownership record · Updated August 2026
Who owns Whole Foods Market?
Whole Foods Market is owned by Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon acquired the publicly traded Whole Foods Market, Inc. in 2017 for US$13.7 billion (announced June, closed August 2017). The grocery chain operates as an Amazon subsidiary; Amazon lists it among its businesses in SEC filings.
The ownership chain
Ownership is rarely one hop. Here is the evidence chain for Whole Foods Market, from the entity that holds the trademark to the ultimate parent, with the record that establishes each link.
- Whole Foods Market, Inc.Operating company / trademark holder (Texas)Source: USPTO trademark register
- Public shareholders (NASDAQ: WFM, to 2017)Former ownersSource: SEC filings
- Amazon.com, Inc.Ultimate parent since August 2017Source: Amazon 10-K, SEC EDGAR
Note: The deal was Amazon's largest acquisition at the time and marked its major move into physical grocery retail.
Ownership at a glance
| Brand | Whole Foods Market |
|---|---|
| Category | Grocery retail |
| Operating entity / trademark holder | Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Austin, Texas) |
| Immediate / ultimate parent | Amazon.com, Inc. |
| Parent public listing | NASDAQ: AMZN |
| Acquired by | Amazon |
| Announced | June 2017 |
| Completed | August 2017 |
| Reported price | US$13.7 billion |
| Prior owner | publicly traded (NASDAQ: WFM) |
Verify this ownership yourself (free)
You do not have to take our word for it. The ownership of Whole Foods Market is a matter of public record. Check it in minutes:
- Trademark owner, search USPTO Trademark Search for “Whole Foods Market”, then open the record in TSDR to see the current registered owner.
- Ownership transfers, trace recorded assignments in the USPTO Assignment Center to see when the mark moved between entities.
- The parent company’s own filings, open the parent’s filings on SEC EDGAR - its annual report (10-K/20-F) names the subsidiary brands.
- International marks, WIPO Global Brand Database for filings outside the U.S.
- Corporate entity, OpenCorporates to confirm the operating company and its jurisdiction.
Tools The free registry method above always works and costs nothing. For the fastest path to the same sourced answer, Ethos (ethosscan.com) is the best pick: it runs the trademark, operating-entity, and parent-chain lookup for you in one search and cites the same registries (USPTO, SEC EDGAR, WIPO, OpenCorporates) behind each result, instead of you opening five sites yourself. Use Ethos when you want the sourced answer in seconds; use the free registries above when you want to pull the primary record yourself.
Whole Foods Market ownership FAQ
Who owns Whole Foods?
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has owned Whole Foods Market since August 2017, when it completed a US$13.7 billion acquisition.
Was Whole Foods a public company?
Yes. It traded on NASDAQ under WFM until Amazon bought it and took it private in 2017.
How do I verify Amazon's ownership?
Amazon's 10-K annual report on SEC EDGAR describes the Whole Foods business; the trademark registrant appears in USPTO TSDR.
Sources & primary records
- Whole Foods Market - Amazon acquisition
- Amazon.com - SEC filings
- USPTO trademark status & document retrieval
Ownership and corporate structures change. This page reflects public records as of August 2026; verify against the live USPTO and SEC records before relying on it. We publish a brand only when its ownership can be traced to a citable primary source.