Sandy Gooch Papers

Sandy Gooch is an entrepreneur whose vision transformed the way many Americans prepare, eat and shop for food and health care products. As founder of Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Food Markets — the first natural foods supermarket chain in the U.S. — she adhered to strict requirements for freshness and quality.

After being hospitalized in the mid-1970s for a life-threatening allergic reaction to an antibiotic, Gooch discovered that chemical additives in sodas and foods exacerbated her condition. Motivated by this knowledge, she left her job as a teacher to open her first market in 1977 in an old A&P grocery store space in West Los Angeles.

By 1993, Mrs. Gooch’s, which offered a range of quality, nutritious foods while advocating for healthy lifestyles, had expanded to seven stores and was one of the highest-grossing natural products markets in the world with annual sales of over $90 million. In September 1993, Gooch sold her company to Whole Foods Market for $60 million, merging the nation’s two biggest natural foods supermarket chains.

The Sandy Gooch Papers document the founding and growth of Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Food Markets, as well as the founder’s life’s work. The gift from Gooch and her husband, Harry Lederman, includes business records, product information, advertising, decor materials, photographs and videos that record the importance of the natural foods chain.