The logo for Whole Foods Market has used Brighton since around 1984. The slightly quirky, soft serif is is not far afield from the logo of Safer Way, one of the two original stores that merged in 1980 to create Whole Foods. This warm style of type, with rounded edges and unusual letterforms vaguely reminiscent of Art Nouveau shapes, is often used to evoke stuff made from the earth, or by hand, rather than machines. It is a genre well-represented in the Letraset and ITC releases of the 1970s and early ’80s, with designs such Bramley, Edwardian, and ITC Souvenir.

Some instances of the Whole Foods logo have an unfortunate stretching of Brighton for “MARKET” in an unnecessary attempt to make the small word fit the general width of the main mark. The logo that appears in their financial result and annual reports does not have this aberration.

FF Scala Sans is used as a secondary typeface on various logos and other company materials.

2012 Annual Report

David Matthis and John Mackey for Houston's Shepherd opening, 1984.

Whole Foods Market in Oklahoma City

Whole Foods Market in Rockville, Md.

Whole Foods Market in Jacksonville, Fla.