Amazon will give its U.S. employees a 20% discount on purchases at Whole Foods Market stores starting Oct. 1, one of the company's most direct moves yet to tie employee benefits to its expanding grocery business.

The Employee Grocery Discount applies to Amazon workers across the country, including staff at fulfillment centers, Whole Foods stores and corporate offices. Employees shopping in person at Whole Foods Market and the smaller Whole Foods Market Daily Shop format get 20% off throughout the store, including hot and salad bar items. Gift cards and alcohol are excluded.

The benefit extends beyond the produce aisle. Eligible categories include diapers, baby formula, cleaning products, pet food and toiletries. Amazon said it chose groceries because they represent a frequent expense for workers and their families.

Employees will also receive a 10% discount on eligible fresh groceries, pantry items and everyday essentials sold and shipped by Amazon.com. Online Whole Foods Market orders, including eligible catering purchases, carry the same 10% discount.

There is no spending cap and no minimum purchase requirement. Workers become eligible on their first day of employment, the company said.

The discount stacks with other Amazon promotions. Amazon specified that it can be combined with Prime discounts, coupons, Lightning Deals and Subscribe & Save offers. On an item already discounted 10% for Prime members, the employee discount applies after the Prime price reduction.

The program lands as groceries and household essentials take a bigger share of Amazon's retail business. Everyday essentials now account for one out of every three units sold on Amazon.com, according to the company. Customers can buy nearly 3 million grocery and everyday essential products on the site, from pantry staples and household goods to fresh produce, dairy, meat and seafood.

Whole Foods, which Amazon acquired in 2017, operates more than 550 stores, with more than 100 additional locations in development. Those include stores in the Daily Shop format, a smaller footprint designed for quicker grocery trips.

Amazon has also pushed fresh grocery into its Same-Day Delivery network, which reaches more than 2,300 U.S. cities and towns. The company began adding perishables to the service in early 2025, and sales of perishables through it have since increased more than 40-fold. In markets where fresh groceries are available through Same-Day Delivery, perishable products now account for nine of the 10 most frequently ordered items.

For marketers and retail rivals, the discount signals how far Amazon will go to build loyalty around its grocery operations — and how central everyday essentials have become to its broader commerce flywheel.