2025 Rising Stars: Dulce Mireles of Whole Foods Market
Every year, Store Brands sets out to recognize the next generation of private label leaders, individuals who are not only excelling in their roles but also driving meaningful progress across the industry. The 2025 Rising Stars embody the innovation, energy, and strategic thinking that are essential to keeping store brands competitive, relevant, and compelling to today’s consumers.
This year’s honorees share a deep commitment to delivering value, quality, and fresh ideas to their companies and retail partners. Whether launching new product lines, strengthening brand identities, or collaborating across teams to improve execution, each of these professionals brings passion and purpose to their work.
The impact of these Rising Stars is already being felt across the private label landscape. Many have played pivotal roles in building more shopper-centric brands, streamlining supply chains, or identifying on-trend innovations that resonate at shelf. In an era where private brands are gaining ground, their efforts are helping to redefine what store brands can be.
As the private label industry continues to evolve, future success will depend on a new generation of leaders. Their drive, insights, and collaborative spirit are setting a new standard, one that ensures the future of store brands is bright, bold, and built to last.
Dulce Mireles
Senior Product Developer
Whole Foods Market
Driven by a passion for sustainability and excellence, Dulce Mireles has quickly emerged as a rising star in the world of private label product development. As a Senior Product Developer for Whole Foods Market’s Exclusive Brands, Mireles leads with a consumer-first mindset and a science-backed approach that fuels innovation in the breakfast and dairy categories.
Since joining Whole Foods Market in 2020 as a kitchen technician after earning her B.S. in Food Science from Texas A&M, Mireles has advanced rapidly, earning multiple promotions and industry certifications, including Certified Food Scientist and Certified Coffee Trade Expert. She also serves on the store brand industry’s Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence (WISE) Junior Board, where she mentors peers and leads leadership enrichment sessions.
Mireles’ standout achievements include developing award-winning products like the Organic Carrot Cake Oatmeal and Barista Oat Milk, which outperformed category leaders in taste tests. She has also launched innovative offerings such as compostable K-cups and Regenerative Organic Certified oats and coffees, supporting Whole Foods’ mission to nourish people and the planet.
Beyond her technical expertise, Mireles is known for building community. She brings people together, whether through team events like gordita-making celebrations or by mentoring junior developers, while championing diversity, sustainability, and quality.
Her forward-thinking mindset and dedication to product excellence continue to raise the bar for store brands and reinforce her place as a leader shaping the future of private label.
