# The grocery chain that builds brands

> Sprouts Farmers Market grew from a 1943 fruit stand into 380 stores, and it spends that scale lifting up small brands and communities.
- Title: The grocery chain that builds brands · Naturallydannyseo
- Summary: Sprouts Farmers Market grew from a 1943 fruit stand into 380 stores, and it spends that scale lifting up small brands and communities. A grocery store can be…
- Keywords: grocery, natural foods, small business, food waste, nutrition, chain, builds, brands, Naturallydannyseo
- Source: Naturallydannyseo — https://naturallydannyseo.com/2024/11/sprouts-celebrates-20-years
- Published: 2024-11-14T20:40:18+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: grocery, natural foods, small business, food waste, nutrition
## Not just a grocery store
Sprouts Farmers Market runs 380 stores across 23 states, and what separates it from other healthy grocers is who it lifts up: first-time brands and local communities.
## Started at a fruit stand
Henry Boney opened a fresh-fruit stand in San Diego in 1943. His son Stan and grandson Shon opened the first Sprouts in Chandler, Arizona in 2002. It went public in 2013.
## Produce in the spotlight
The open layout is built around produce, with natural foods whose ingredients you can pronounce, plus organic, gluten-free, plant-based, keto and grass-fed picks. 31,000 team members run it.
## Your oranges stay close
Sprouts aims to put a fresh produce distribution center within 250 miles of every store, so food does not cross the country before it reaches the shelf.
## Unsold food goes to people
All unsold but edible groceries go to Feeding America and local relief agencies. In 2021 that came to more than 32 million pounds of donated food.
## Most waste never lands
Of 39,546 tons of food waste in 2021, Sprouts recovered 78 percent through donation, compost, energy generation and meat recycling. Food that fails donation standards feeds cattle.
## Small brands get a shot
Siete, Mikey's, Gelato Boy, Fresh Press Farms and Urban Accents all grew on Sprouts shelves. Mikey's tested gluten-free muffins there in 2015, then pizza pockets and tortillas by 2018.

> They find disruptive brands and give them a platform.
## Shelf space plus real help
Founders describe branding support, in-store promotion and steady feedback on what is selling. Hope & Sesame credits the in-store innovation displays for launching their sesame milk.

> Sprouts kick-started a love affair between their shoppers and our brands
## Different on purpose
Chief Forager Kim Coffin says Sprouts hunts for brands that match its shoppers, then builds marketing that tells each one's story.

> Innovation and differentiation have always been the lifeblood of our business.
## Teaching kids to grow
The Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, started in 2015, has put more than $18 million into school gardens and afterschool nutrition programs, reaching an estimated 3.5 million students.
## Key takeaway

A grocery store can be a launchpad. Sprouts picks small, different brands, gives them shelf space and real feedback, and puts its scale behind food waste and kids' nutrition.