Rather than cede the natural and organic market to Whole Foods and a host of smaller competitors, grocery chains decided to answer with high-quality food offerings of their own. In particular, Kroger ( KR -1.47% ) led a drive toward greater availability of organic and other premium-quality products in its stores, and it offered cheaper prices than Whole Foods. As a result, the organic specialist had an unappetizing decision: to give up market share, or cut prices and suffer the resulting drop in profit-margin figures.