Skinnygirl Margaritas are all the rage right now – we have friends who swear by Bethenny Frankel and her brand of low-calorie drink mixes that allow you to party without all the waistline worries. But Whole Foods is rather uncertain of the “all-natural” claims adorning each bottle of Skinnygirl cocktail mixes. So uncertain, in fact, that the grocery store chain has made the decision to remove Skinnygirl products from its shelves.
The dispute stems from the fact that the labels on the sangria and margarita mixes say “all-natural” (as in “100 percent blue agave tequila with natural flavors and caramel color”) and then leaves it at that – no other ingredient breakdown is offered.
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It’s enough for a lot of people, but not everyone – especially not Whole Foods. “Whole Foods isn’t about faking anything,” an anonymous store worker told a reporter with Huffington Post. “The store prides itself in selling the best quality whole products that our high-end consumers expect. Not novelty products that are shaded with secrecy.”
No skin off Bethenny’s back, though. Grubstreet points out that Frankel has already sold her Skinnygirl line to Beam Global Spirits and Wine for a cool $120 million, and in an interview with Access Hollywood she attempted to save face by implying that her company actually decided to end their relationship with Whole Foods FIRST, so don’t get it twisted, okay? “With all due respect to Whole Foods, we were in a dozen of their stores and have decided not to continue in these stores,” said Frankel. “They represent an infinitesimal fraction of our business.”
