Mission: Whole Foods

For all you foodie app junkies out there, and you know who you are! … check out the new Mission App from Whole Foods.

Hats Off to Whole Foods. This app is a really strong example of both mobile application and peer-to-peer communication … and another reason my iPhone looks so used and beaten up. From a marketing point of view, apps like this one further elevate and extend the Whole Foods brand.

The Mission App allows users to earn badges for taking steps toward various goals. There are more than 70 “missions" to choose from. Within each is a checklist of foods to eat, things to do, even movies to watch. All designed to educate and push the user out of whatever rut they’re stuck in. When you successfully complete all of the requirements within a category you earn a badge. You can share your badges with friends via Twitter, Facebook or e-mail.

Personally, I’m not going for any badges.

For me, the usefulness is the Tips section. It offers more than 300 tips across nine subject matters: Cooking, Fresh & Frugal, Green Living, In the Store, Nutrition, Storage, Time Savers, Your Wellness and a kind of strange group called Worth a Try. I’ve found many of the tips to be helpful, especially those in Cooking and Storage.

Fun, succinct and social. Oh, and free! Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod.