Wild Oats Marketplace

Wild Oats Marketplace is a prominent brand in the natural and organic food industry, originally founded in 1987 as a health food supermarket chain. The company was a major competitor to Whole Foods Market until its acquisition by the latter in 2007. Following a Federal Trade Commission intervention regarding antitrust concerns, the Wild Oats brand was divested and eventually acquired by The Yucaipa Companies. Today, it operates as a consumer packaged goods brand, providing a wide range of organic pantry staples and affordable natural products through partnerships with major retailers like Walmart. The company focuses on the health and wellness retail sector rather than clinical life sciences or biotechnology.