Organic Quinoa – Costco vs Whole Foods (March 2014)

We wrote a post on Organic Quinoa – Costco vs Whole Foods last September but due to the steep price increase of Truroots Organic Quinoa (check this post for latest price) at Costco, we decided to check out prices at Whole Foods again.

Whole Foods does not carry Truroots Organic Quinoa (we didn’t see it), but they do have Organic Quinoa in their bulk bin and also an Eden Organic Quinoa on their shelves. These were the cheapest organic quinoa we found at the store. They were priced at $6.39/lb.

Just last week, Costco increased the price of Truroots Organic Quinoa from $12.99 to $18.99 for the 4-lb bag.

Unit price is $4.748/lb.

Item number 363110.

So, with the price increase, is organic quinoa still cheaper at Costco? Yes, it is.

Costco is 26% cheaper than Whole Foods for Organic Quinoa, even despite the price increase.

It looks like the price increase is not only at Costco but at Whole Foods as well.

Back in September 2013, when we checked prices at Whole Foods, we found organic quinoa priced at $3.99/lb while at Costco, it was priced at $2.748/lb.

I’m not sure if this is the last price increase we’ll see for organic quinoa. Demand has exceeded supply so the price keep increasing. But high prices have supposedly encouraged other farmers, including American farmers, to plant quinoa so hopefully there’ll be an increase in supply soon. More supply can either stabilize or lower prices. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.