Sprouts promotes Whole30 partnership, highlights private brands in New Year's effort
Sprouts Farmers Market has put in motion a January program to help shoppers tackle that common New Year’s resolution to get healthy — but the program also acts as a nice showcase for some of Sprouts’ healthy private brand options.
The Phoenix-based retailer has partnered with Whole30, a healthy living lifestyle platform co-founded by Melissa Hartwig Urban, that will include six live, in-store events featuring Whole30 certified healthy living coaches presenting tips, and giving away a popular Whole30 book from Urban. But the anchor of the campaign is a “Whole30 Shopping List” that can be found on the Sprouts website for shoppers to use to buy "Whole30 Approved" products and some Whole30-compliant private label products to kick off a healthier new year.
A Sprouts representative told Store Brands that through social media, the retailer learned that Urban regularly shops at Sprouts in Utah and ever since has been working with the company to find what products fit the Whole30 lifestyle. The company then posted the "Whole30 shopping list" to help shoppers take advantage of the items.
The company representative stated that the shopping list does include Sprouts Brand products that are compliant with the program but the private label products are not technically "Whole30 Approved," as Sprout's isn't an official partner of the program.
Instead the private brand items are "100% compliant" with the Whole30 program and vetted, but to be "approved" there are extra aspects involved, such as a Whole30 Approved product that contains animal protein now meets the program’s established animal welfare standards, as created in partnership with the ASPCA
Sprouts, as a retailer prides itself on providing healthy and organic offerings, and of course offers a large assortment of healthy private brand foods under the Sprouts name. When looking at the shopping list, many can be found there, marking a clever way to promote the brands alongside other healthy brands such as Kettle & Fire, Primal Kitchen and Epic.
The shopping list is broken down into different categories: protein, fruits/veggies, fats, bulk, grocery aisles and beverages. Each category has a list of suggested items (many being Sprouts items) that shoppers can check off and complete a shopping trip of items that fit the Whole30 lifestyle.
More than about losing weight, the Whole30 program focuses on nutrient-dense foods that can eliminate digestive issues, food sensitivities and fatigue. It’s a 30-day program that aims to get people feeling more energetic, experiencing better sleep and building up better habits to go along with a better diet.
“Think of the Whole30 like pushing the reset button for your health, habits and relationship with food,” said Urban, noting the short-term elimination program helps identify foods that could have a “sneaky negative impact” on a person’s energy, sleep, digestion, mental health, cravings, allergies, or joint pain.
“The Whole30 can mean big changes to the way you cook,” she said. “Having shopped at Sprouts for years, I know their extensive selection of Whole30 Approved and compliant items will support the Whole30 community during and after their program.”
In addition for the new year, Sprouts is running a sweepstakes to hand out $5,000 worth of gift cards to random shoppers who text to enter the contest.
Sprouts has been enjoying some recent success. With more than 300 locations in 19 states, the chain posted a 12% net sales growth for the year and has boosted its private label program. The retailer said in an earlier story nearly half of its customers have at least one own brand in its basket.
The Whole30 shopping list program certainly looks to enhance that number.
The live retail events will run at 10 a.m., Jan. 4 at select stores in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego and West Hollywood, Calif.