Founders searching for how to sell to Sprouts Farmers Market are often looking for a step up from regional natural grocers without taking on the full weight of a national mass retailer. Sprouts is a good fit for that ambition. It is a health-focused grocer with a clear shopper, a growing store base and a published, formal route for new suppliers. It is also a retailer that expects vendors to arrive operationally ready, with EDI, insurance and payment terms in order before the first purchase order.
Brand Refinery is a CPG consulting firm that helps consumer brands enter the U.S. market and win retail partnerships with Walmart, Target, Kroger, Whole Foods, Costco and Ulta. This guide covers what Sprouts is today, how its new item submission process works, what the buyer needs to see, the operational requirements to meet before you pitch, and the mistakes that stall a submission.
What Sprouts looks like in 2026
Sprouts Farmers Market is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. According to Chain Store Age, the chain ended 2025 with 477 stores in 24 states and planned to open more than 40 new stores in 2026. The Shelby Report, in an article dated 27 October 2026, described Sprouts as operating more than 500 stores in 25 states with approximately 36,000 team members.
Three implications follow for a brand.
- The footprint is growing. A new supplier can plan for expansion store by store, but should confirm the current regional footprint before building a launch plan. Store counts change monthly.
- The shopper is health-oriented. Products that fit clean-label, better-for-you and functional positioning are easier to explain to a Sprouts buyer than products that rely on legacy mainstream cues.
- The chain is regional in strength. Sprouts is stronger in some regions than others, so velocity data from the right geography matters more than national claims.
If you are comparing options, our guides to selling to Whole Foods and getting into Kroger show how different retailers structure their buying.
Step 1: Confirm you can meet the vendor requirements
Sprouts publishes its requirements on its supplier site, and you should check them before you submit anything. At the time of writing, the page states that domestic vendors must do four things.
- Accept payment by Electronic Funds Transfer through Accounts Payable.
- Use Electronic Data Interchange for purchase orders, PO acknowledgements, invoices and advance ship notices.
- Provide a certificate of insurance.
- Accept standard Net 30 terms, with vendor promotions deducted from open accounts payable.
Treat these as entry criteria, not details to sort out later. A brand with no EDI capability should plan for that setup, which takes time and money. Our guide to EDI setup and chargeback prevention explains what to put in place.
The Net 30 and deduction language also deserves attention. When promotions are deducted from open payables, your cash conversion cycle depends on how accurately your trade spend is tracked. Build that into your margin model from the start.
Step 2: Pick the correct submission path
Sprouts routes submissions by category.
- Meat, beer and wine, seafood, bakery and deli: these go to the dedicated submissions email address listed on the Sprouts supplier page.
- Grocery, beverage, dairy, frozen, body care and vitamins: current Sprouts vendors use the Sprouts MDM system, and new vendors use the New Item Submission form on the submissions site.
- Non-retail items: goods not for resale, services and IT go through indirect procurement, which is a separate channel.
Check the live page for current addresses and links before you send anything, because they can change.
Step 3: Prepare a complete submission
The page instructs vendors to complete every section of the form, provide all requested images and be ready to send physical samples. Brands that treat the form as a formality tend to be the ones that never hear back. A strong submission has these elements.
- A clear one-sentence positioning statement. The buyer should know who the product is for and why it belongs in the set in under ten seconds.
- A clean item master. Case dimensions, weights, UPCs, shelf life, storage requirements and ingredient statements must match the physical product exactly.
- Pricing and margin structure. Show your cost, wholesale price, suggested retail price and the margin the retailer earns. Our guide to distributor economics covers how the margin stack works when a distributor is involved.
- Proof of demand. Use scan data, sell-through from other retailers or direct sales velocity. See our guide to SPINS, NielsenIQ and Circana for what buyers look at.
- High-quality images. Use clear packshots at the resolution requested.
Step 4: Send samples that make the buyer's job easy
The Sprouts page lists a mailing address at the support office in Phoenix for samples. Verify the address on the live page before shipping, since the published ZIP code looks irregular. Label every sample clearly with your company name, product name and contact details, and include a one-page sell sheet that restates the positioning, price and differentiators. Buyers see many samples, so make yours easy to identify and easy to act on.
Step 5: The merchandising review
After submission, the merchandising team reviews the item. You may wait without a response, which is normal. Use that time productively.
- Keep your velocity data fresh at your existing retailers.
- Confirm your distributor and logistics path.
- Prepare a launch plan for the initial stores or region.
If selected, a Sprouts team member emails an invitation to set up an account on the Workday Financials Supplier Portal, and Sprouts validates your company information through its approval and onboarding process. Respond quickly and have your tax, banking and insurance documents ready.
What the buyer needs to see
Buyer decisions are rarely about a single feature. They look for a combination of fit, proof and readiness.
- Fit: does the product fill a gap in the set, or does it duplicate something already on the shelf?
- Proof: is there evidence that shoppers repurchase, not just try?
- Readiness: can you supply consistently, ship on time and comply with EDI and labeling?
- Support: do you have a plan for demos, digital marketing and promotions that supports velocity?
A product that is genuinely different and well supported often beats a larger brand that offers more of the same.
Planning your first year at Sprouts
- Before submission: secure EDI, insurance, EFT and a distributor or direct delivery plan.
- Submission to decision: keep building proof of demand elsewhere.
- First 90 days after acceptance: set trade spend carefully, support the launch with in-store and digital activity, and track weekly sell-through.
- Months 4 to 12: review velocity by store, adjust promotions, and decide whether to request additional items or expansion.
Sprouts is also a useful proof point for larger retailers. Strong velocity in a health-focused chain gives you credible data for conversations with conventional grocers and club stores. Our guide on why CPG product launches fail lists the early mistakes to avoid.
Common mistakes
- Submitting before EDI, insurance and payment terms are ready.
- Sending an incomplete form or low-quality images.
- Listing the same product across SKUs with no clear hero item.
- Setting wholesale prices that leave no room for promotions.
- Ignoring the cost of deductions in a Net 30 environment.
- Following up too often without new data to share.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I submit a new product to Sprouts Farmers Market? New vendors in grocery, beverage, dairy, frozen, body care and vitamins categories use the New Item Submission form on the Sprouts submissions site. Complete every section, provide the requested images and be ready to mail physical samples to the Sprouts support office in Phoenix. Meat, seafood, bakery, deli, beer and wine use a separate email submission route.
What are the Sprouts supplier requirements? According to the Sprouts supplier page, domestic vendors must accept payment by electronic funds transfer, use EDI for purchase orders, acknowledgements, invoices and ship notices, provide a certificate of insurance and accept standard Net 30 terms with promotions deducted from open payables. Confirm the current requirements on the live page before you submit.
How many stores does Sprouts have? Chain Store Age reported 477 stores in 24 states at the end of 2025 with more than 40 openings planned for 2026, and the Shelby Report described more than 500 stores in 25 states in October 2026. Store counts change as new locations open.
Do I need a distributor to sell to Sprouts? The submission process does not itself require a distributor, but your delivery path must work with the retailer's EDI and logistics requirements. Many brands use a natural-channel distributor or a third-party logistics partner, so choose the route that gives you reliable service at a margin you can afford.
How long does it take to get into Sprouts? There is no fixed public timeline, and review times vary by category and by the retailer's planning calendar. Plan on several months from submission to shelf, and use the wait to strengthen your sales data and operational readiness.
Next step
Brand Refinery helps founders prepare retailer submissions, margin models and launch plans for natural and specialty grocers. If you are planning a Sprouts pitch, book a strategy call and see how we work on our services and about pages.