Exhibit 99.1

                      Whole Foods Market Expands Into U.K.

             Company to Acquire Seven Natural & Organic Food Stores
                          for Approximately $38 Million

    The Company Will Host a Conference Call Today to Discuss This Announcement
At 4 p.m. CST. The Dial In Number Is 800-362-0571 and the Conference ID Is
"WFME." A Replay Will Be Available for Approximately 72 Hours at 402-270-0680. A
Simultaneous Audio Web Cast Will Also Be Available At www.wholefoodsmarket.com .
The Audio Web Cast Will Be Archived for Thirty Days.

    AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Whole Foods Market, Inc.
(Nasdaq: WFMI) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire
Fresh & Wild Holdings Limited in a stock purchase transaction for
approximately $38 million, subject to certain post-closing adjustments.  The
Fresh & Wild shareholders will have until January 26, 2004 to elect to receive
any combination of cash or Whole Foods Market common stock.  The number of
shares issued will be based on the $68.586 average closing price of Whole
Foods Market common stock for the 10 trading days ending January 16, 2004.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of February.  The Company does
not expect this acquisition to have an impact on its previously stated diluted
earnings per share guidance for the 2004 fiscal year of $1.88 to $1.96.

    Fresh & Wild owns and operates six natural and organic food stores in the
London market, located in Camden, City Center, Notting Hill, Clapham, Soho and
Stoke Newington, and one store in Bristol.  Additionally the company has one
London store in development, in Crouch End, scheduled to open later this year.
The store base is approximately three years old with stores averaging 5,200
gross square feet in size.  For the twelve months ended December 31, 2003,
total sales were approximately 17.6 million pounds ($28.9 million (i)) and
identical store sales increased 10%.

    "We are very excited about extending our company mission and the Whole
Foods Market brand beyond the borders of the U.S. and Canada and into Europe.
The U.K. is an obvious choice due to the advanced acceptance of organics and
the lack of language barriers there," said John Mackey, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Whole Foods Market.  "We believe an acquisition is the
right strategy for our first overseas venture.  As with other successful
acquisitions we have made, the infrastructure and intellectual capital we will
gain will provide us with an immediate platform for expansion.  We are
actively exploring real estate opportunities in the London area with the goal
of opening a large format Whole Foods Market store over the next few years."

    About Whole Foods Market:

    Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market(R)
(www.wholefoodsmarket.com ) is the largest natural and organic foods
supermarket retailer in the United States.  In fiscal year 2003, the Company
had sales of $3.1 billion and currently has 146 stores in the United States
and Canada.

    The following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Except for the historical
information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which could
cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in the
forward looking statements.  These risks include but are not limited to
general business conditions, the timely development and opening of new stores,
the integration of acquired stores, the impact of competition, and other risks
detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report
on Form 10K for the fiscal year ended September 28, 2003.  The Company does
not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

    (i)  Based on an average exchange rate of approximately $1.64 per British

         Pound for the twelve months ended December 31, 2003.

SOURCE  Whole Foods Market, Inc.
    -0-                             01/16/2004
    /CONTACT:  IR, Cindy McCann, +1-512-477-4455, or media, Kate Lowery-
Monteilh, +1-512-485-3600, ext. 3725, both of Whole Foods Market, Inc./
    /Web site:  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com /
    (WFMI)

CO:  Whole Foods Market, Inc.; Fresh & Wild Holdings Limited
ST:  Texas, England
IN:  FOD REA SUP
SU:  CCA MAV