Goochable

The Ultimate Standard

Goochable is an adjective originated in the natural foods industry to mean “meets Sandy Gooch’s strict quality and health standards...

Who is Sandy Gooch?

Sandy Gooch is an American entrepreneur and natural foods pioneer best known as the founder of Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Food Markets, one of the first natural foods supermarket chains in the United States.

She began her career as a public school teacher in Pico Rivera and as a Master Teacher in Culver City, California, before entering the food business.

In the mid 1970s she suffered severe allergic reactions and chest pains linked to an antibiotic and to chemical additives in processed foods and sodas, which led her to radically change her diet and seek out natural foods.

Founding Mrs. Gooch’s.

Explore her story

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What is Goochable?

“Goochable” is an adjective that originated in the natural foods industry to mean “meets Sandy Gooch’s strict quality and health standards.” It was coined by food vendors and retailers to describe products that were allowed to be sold in Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Food Markets, the first natural foods supermarket chain in the U.S.

How it is used

In practice, “Goochable” functioned like a label of approval: A product was “Goochable” if it passed Mrs. Gooch’s ingredient and processing criteria. It implied the item was clean, fresh, and aligned with a science-backed definition of healthy eating. Vendors and retailers used it as a quick way to ask whether a product would be acceptable in natural foods stores that followed the Mrs. Gooch’s model. The concept of “Goochable” is described as lying at the core of Sandy Gooch’s philosophy, and she has expressed hope that the term would continue to guide students and researchers and the general public as it relates to studying food standards and sustainability.

Origin and meaning

Sandy Gooch, founder of Mrs. Gooch’s in the 1970s, created a detailed list of ingredients and practices her stores would not carry: no refined white sugar or flour, no hydrogenated oils, no irradiated foods or GMOs, no bovine growth hormones, no harmful chemical additives, artificial flavors or colors, and more. Every criterion was backed by scientific reasoning, and stores across the country recognized what “Mrs. Gooch’s would carry” as a benchmark for what was healthy. Because Mrs. Gooch’s did the research, salesmen would bring samples to health food stores and be asked, “Is it Goochable?”—meaning, does this product meet those standards?. The term became a shorthand for the highest standard in natural products and is sometimes still used today, with some suggesting it may be making a comeback.