Plus more good news this week.
Key Points
- Costco’s CEO Ron Vachris started as a forklift driver, showcasing the company’s strong promotion culture.
- Eating one avocado daily for six months may lower LDL particle concentration, reducing heart disease risk.
- Flavonoid-rich foods like oranges, apples and tea may lower breast cancer risk by up to 15%, research suggests.
This is Good Food News, your weekly installment of positive food and health news from around the world. These feel-good stories are hand-picked by EatingWell editors to help make your week just a little bit brighter.
Featured Story: From Forklift Driver to CEO, Ron Vachris Reflects on 44 Years at Costco
When it comes to employee tenure, Costco has a positive reputation. The Economist reported in 2024 that while the average retail employee turnover rate is 60%, Costco’s is substantially lower at 8%, and credit is given to their competitive salaries and opportunities for internal promotion.
A prime example of a Costco success story is Ron Vachris, the wholesale corporation’s very own chief executive officer (CEO). In fact, Vachris had very humble beginnings, preceding the Costco we know and love today.
“I started in Phoenix, Arizona, with a company called Price Club,” he tells EatingWell in an exclusive interview.
Price Club came before Costco as the first membership warehouse club in 1976. Vachris joined the company in 1982, when it had just 17 warehouses.
“I was going to school at the time and I was working nights,” he reminisced. “I would unload trucks with a forklift and prepare merchandise for the next day.” Vachris notes that he picked up the gig “as a seasonal position,” never intending to have a full-time career in retail. But we know how this story continues.
Price Club transitioned to Costco in the ’90s, and by that point Vachris had held several positions throughout the warehouse. But in 1992, he officially moved to Denver, Colorado, to become a warehouse manager for the city’s first Costco locations. He declares this the turning point in his career.
“We really empower our managers,” Vachris shares. “They are executives in the company; they manage all aspects of their business. When I got the ability to manage a large group of people and use the support that the organization has for our warehouse managers, that’s when I remember telling my wife, ‘This is it.’”
This was his justification for relocating a lot for the company. And we mean a lot. Vachris eventually returned to Arizona to open up more warehouses in the state before moving again in 1999 to San Diego, where he became regional vice president, overseeing warehouse operations in the Southwest. By 2010, he was based in Washington state to take on the role of senior vice president. Then came international operations in 2015, where he “traveled the world” with Costco’s founders Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman.
“We were working on opening our new first locations in China, Spain, Iceland, Sweden,” Vachris says. “We were establishing a game plan that would help Costco warehouses perform well in these different regions around the world.” That’s what eventually earned him yet another upgraded title in 2017: the company’s head merchant, transitioning from operations to a buying role before taking charge.
“I did that position until February 2022, and then I was asked to step in as president of the company,” he shares. “I worked alongside Craig Jelinek, who was our CEO at the time. And I held the president position for two years, and then Craig had retired in January 2024, and that’s when I was fortunate enough to be given the position of CEO and president.”
Benefits and promotions are great, but why exactly did Vachris decide to stay at Costco for over 40 years? He tells EatingWell the true reason.
“Our culture is always do the right thing,” Vachris explains. “When you get to come to work every day, and your primary objective is do the right thing for the employees and for the members, it makes the job a lot of fun and it makes it easy to be successful… We’re big, but we’re nimble. It’s very fun to stay on top of things and always be continuously evolving, but staying true to your core values.”
So what’s next for Costco? They’re planning to maintain the brand mission and values that you know and love, but Vachris offers a sneak-peek at new fall products coming to warehouse locations soon, which EatingWell will reveal next week. Hint: there’s a giant bear and new food items involved.
More Good News This Week
Eating Avocado May Have a Surprising Benefit
A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology shows that eating one avocado a day for six months could help lower LDL particle concentration. This could lower heart disease risk by 4%, so include the heart-healthy fat into your diet by incorporating more avocado toast or guac in your routine.
A Dietitian Walked with a Weighted Vest for 30 Days
Senior nutrition editor Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, shared her experience walking with a 12-pound weighted vest every day for 30 days. While she noted it helped her build strength and endurance during her typically easy strolls, here’s what to know before investing in a vest.
These Foods May Lower Breast Cancer Risk by 15%
Did you know there are some foods that could lower your breast cancer risk? New research highlights how an eating pattern focused on flavonoid-rich foods like oranges, apples and tea may lower breast cancer risk by 15%. Although the study cannot prove causation, including more of these foods in your diet is bound to cause more good than harm. Try breakfasts like our Wake-Up Smoothie or Chocolate-Strawberry-Peanut Butter Chia Pudding to reap the benefits.
Video of the Week
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Finding somewhere to eat is a chore in itself, and trying to enjoy the meal as the decider of the location is its own beast. Take some of that weight off your shoulders and instead prepare one of these easy restaurant copycat recipes next time you’re hosting friends: