For those of you who like to invest in organic foods, there’s an interesting IPO coming up.
Sprouts Farmers Market is planning to enter the public markets under the ticker, SFM, hoping to raise $300 million.
Last year, Sprouts reported $2 billion in sales, a 16% rise from 2011. In the past couple of years it merged with Henry’s Farmers Market and then Sunflower Farmers Market.
The company now has more than 150 stores with 10,000 employees across the US and is one of the largest grocers in the western US. It is majority-owned by private equity firm, Apollo Global Management.
Could Sprouts provide Whole Foods Market with some serious competition?
It has big expansion plans to grow to 1,200 stores. Sprouts plans to open 19 stores this year and 20 in 2014.
By comparison, Whole Foods Market had sales of $11.7 billion in 2012, a 16% increase. It has 349 stores and plans to triple that to 1000.
Its growth parallels the increasing interest in natural products, with competitor Whole Foods opening stores in secondary markets.
"I believe we are on the cusp of what will prove to be a decades-long growth trend. Based on our model predictions, we predict natural and organic will make up half of total U.S. food sales within the next generation," Jay Jacobowitz, of natural products consulting firm Retail Insights, told Natural Food Merchandiser.
These changes can be seen at drug chains like Walgreens, which is working on morphing into "wellness" centers that help people stay healthy, carrying everything from fresh food to smoothies.
In the US, the organic industry reached $31.5 billion in sales in 2011, rising 9.5% from the previous year.
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The only place that I know of in Idaho Falls is DC Natural Foods. But they are small, and their selection is quite lietimd. It’s not like Whole Foods, but then I really don’t think of Whole Foods as an organic food store. Whole Foods is more of a yuppie store, with fancy gourmet items and some organics.Anyway, if you want to check out DC Natural, here is their address:D C Natural Foods159 S Corner StIdaho Falls, ID 83402Phone: (208) 522-6964Hope this helps. Good luck!!
Please review your facts – Whole Foods did about 10 billion in sales last year — not 3!
thanks Henry, we made the correction on Whole Foods’ 2012 revenue. The data we used for the article had their numbers wrong.
There is no comparison between WFM and Sprouts as WFM is a scam anyway by advertising organic foods which are not organic and some being shipped from China while also selling foods high in GMO’s. do the research. My money is on Sprouts Farmers Market as the only provider of true organic foods and a whole host of other nutritious items I live on. Sprouts is number 1 on the leader board across the nation ..
Sam, you are incorrect. Sprouts touts itself as providing “natural foods,” yes, whatever that means. Many of their offerings come from countries outside the U.S., including China. And that goes for their produce as well (fresh garlic from–of all places–China). The majority of their “organic” produce comes from Mexico, not the U.S. I work full time for one of Sprouts California locations, so I’m speaking with firsthand knowledge, and not as a consumer who has been swayed by Sprouts’ marketing.