The Little-Known Way To Get Samples At Whole Foods

If you've ever wanted to try samples at Whole Foods, but there were either none out at all or they weren't the food you were curious about, then it's high time we let you in on a little secret. You can try almost anything you would like at the beloved upscale grocery chain — including some of their really expensive cheeses (via Delish).

It is probably not news to you that Whole Foods has some really expensive products (like $12 organic cherries, $40 honey, and even $27 almond butter), so if you're going to drop that kind of cash on groceries you really should be able to try them first. The good news is, when shopping at Whole Foods you can also learn a lot about those products before buying them. A Whole Foods manager of seven years explained to Delish, "At any other grocery store, you wouldn't have in-depth conversations with customers, because you don't have the same training to speak knowledgeably about the store's products". Whole Foods employees are essentially experts on many of the items, so if you have any questions you can ask them while trying the product before heading to the check-out lanes.

You might be tempted to just grab an item off the shelf and start munching to see if you like it, but resist that urge. Just because you can try almost anything at Whole Foods does not mean you have a license to go in and start opening a bunch of different containers. To get samples at the grocery store you'll need to speak with an employee. Once you know what you want to try, simply ask the Whole Foods employee if you can sample it and they will likely open it for you right then and there.

It's a similar policy to the one at Trader Joe's, but at Whole Foods you might be able to push the line of what you can and cannot sample a little bit. According to a Whole Foods employee, "For something perishable like yogurt, team members may offer shoppers a free product so they can take it home and try it" (via Glamour). They said, "That may not happen every time you ask for a sample, but your odds are good", so don't be afraid to ask! The real question is whether or not you might be able to try a free product when it comes to frozen items or food that has to be prepared. It isn't clear where the line is drawn, so you can definitely try requesting one and see what happens.