The Unexpected Benefit To Shopping At Sprouts Farmers Market

Beginning with a small fruit stand in San Diego, Henry Boney's vision of providing healthy food for non-wealthy people has grown to more than 370 Sprouts locations spread from coast to coast (via Sprouts). Since 2002, when his grandchildren, Stan and Shon Boney, opened the first store in Arizona, the brand has gone through a history of merges and acquirements before it went public in 2013. Today, Sprouts Farmers Market continues Henry Boney's mission of making fresh, natural, and healthy foods accessible and affordable — but Sprouts isn't the only health food store out there.

While their success in providing affordable, high-quality food products is arguably enough to keep customers rolling in, there's another unexpected benefit to shopping at Sprouts Farmers Market that makes them stand out from other health food stores. In the chain's effort to carry new and innovative products, you won't come across any of the country's top-selling brands when you walk through a Sprouts store. In fact, CEO Jack Sinclair told Food Dive that "If it's being sold in a conventional supermarket or in a mass-market merchant, I would be disappointed that we're selling it at all." However, what you will find in its place will be much more special.

Since Whole Foods was bought by Amazon, Sinclair told Food Dive he sees an opportunity to be "the destination place for people with interesting new things that are very kind of attribute-based." In this way, Sprouts Farmers Market operates a lot as its name suggests, by bringing small businesses to the forefront. By eliminating foods from their shelves with long, hardly legible ingredient lists, and allocating about 90% of shelf space to organic and natural foods (via Sprouts), most of their aisles are filled with an assortment of new-age food products. By partnering with brands that share similar values and business standards, Sprouts tends to lend the majority of its shelf space to smaller, up-and-coming brands that you typically can't find anywhere else.

What does this mean for you? Well, for one, you get first access to some of the newest products. Second, you know that whatever you purchase there has passed Sprouts Farmers Market's vendor standards — which are pretty high. Not only is Sprouts itself committed to transparency and high ethical standards in regards to both environmental and human rights, but their suppliers are as well (via Sprouts). A shopping spree at Sprouts will introduce you to new brands that use simple, healthy, and organic ingredients with a focus on environmental and social responsibility. So not only are you saving money while shopping at Sprouts, but you're purchasing items that directly support small businesses with responsible business models and sustainable practices.