Whole Foods broadens reach

[LostInTime]

Chicago Tribune
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Special to the Tribune
Published July 16, 2007

"The gay household is now highly, highly visible," said Bob Witeck, chief executive of Witeck-Combs Communications Inc., a Washington, D.C., public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the gay consumer. "Now, companies can say, '[We] now know who they are and [we] want them to be part of [our] mix as customers, shareholders and employees.'"

Companies that in the past were unwilling to risk boycotts from religious conservatives to gain a foothold in the gay and lesbian market now see the market as too lucrative to ignore or alienate.