Whole Foods Market Celebrates 18 Consecutive Years on FORTUNE's '100 Best Companies to Work For' List

Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) has once again earned a spot on FORTUNE magazine’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Whole Foods Market has made the list for 18 consecutive years.

America’s Healthiest Grocery Store™ ranked No. 55 on this year’s list, and is one of just 12 companies to make the list every year since its inception in 1998. Of those 12 companies, Whole Foods Market is noted as the top job creator, with a 784 percent increase in number employees since the list began.

“This award is a credit to the tens of thousands of Whole Foods Market team members that bring our brand to life every day in our stores,” said Mark Ehrnstein, global vice president of Team Member Services. “Our strong culture contributes to low turnover and high morale, which helps create that great grocery shopping experience unique to our business. We’re particularly proud that we’ve been able to maintain our strong culture while our business continues to grow, adding new stores and hundreds of team members every month.”

FORTUNE cited Whole Foods Market’s mission-driven culture and dedication to a higher purpose as a key differentiator, as well as employee perks like store discounts and healthy lifestyle programs. Whole Foods Market ranked fifth overall among retailers, seventh among other companies headquartered in Texas and 17^th overall for diversity. It is the only company headquartered in Austin, Texas, to make this year’s list.

Last week, Whole Foods Market once again earned a spot on FORTUNE’s “Most Admired Companies” list, and was also named as the most reputable company in the food and drug store industry.

Whole Foods Market has earned a number of best workplace honors over the past year:

• Austin American-Statesman Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 13 for large companies
• The Baltimore Sun Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 10 for large-sized companies
• Boston Globe Top Places to Work 2014 – No. 20 for large companies
• Dallas Morning News Top Workplaces 2014 - No. 14 for large companies
• Denver Post Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 16 for large companies
• Hartford Courant and FOXCT Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 1 for large companies
• Houston Chronicle Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 9 for large companies
• Indianapolis Star Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 13 for midsize companies
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplaces 2014 - No. 35 for midsize companies
• Oklahoman Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 5 for large companies
• Philly.com Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 2 for large companies
• Star Tribune Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 19 for large companies
• Tampa Bay Times Top Workplaces 2014
• Tennessean Top Workplaces 2014 – No. 5 for large companies

The “100 Best Companies to Work For” list and related stories appear in the next issue of FORTUNE, which will be available on newsstands on Mar. 9 and at www.fortune.com.

Whole Foods Market is always looking for great people who are passionate about food, the communities they live in and making a positive impact on the environment. Those interested in a career at Whole Foods Market are encouraged to visit the Company’s Careers page at www.wholefoodsmarket.com/careers or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wholefoodsmarketcareers.