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As we continue to grow, we have some purchasing preferences for companies that employ sustainable sourcing, and more and more of the supply community is asking how can they serve Sprouts. One way to get on our radar is to be committed to these higher purpose concerns.
PB: With your personal background and experience in conventional grocery, could you talk about how that compares to Sprouts?
Dan: I have spent many years in the industry; in fact, I was president of Acme Markets for a period of time. I think there are two major differences between what we’re doing and what a conventional super- market might be doing. First, we’re very much committed to a passion that says we have a higher purpose in this business, and our higher purpose is noble in as much as we’re getting up every day to inspire people and serve and enrich the lives of people who shop our stores.
We do that through education and through helping them make choices, so they can live a longer and healthier life. I think by having a noble, higher purpose, changes the entire approach to our work, as compared to a conventional supermarket, which might be more concerned about other matters. That’s Number One and an inspiration for all of us.
The second thing that differentiates us is the size of our store, which is about 28,000 square feet, so we try to make it super easy to shop. It’s easy to get in and out. So many conventional supermarkets over the years have just gotten bigger and bigger. In our case, we like smaller and more experimental.
So for any guests who are coming over to Sprouts to check us out, what they’ll  nd when they walk in the store is the site lines are very different. When you walk through our doors, you see the entire store.
PB: And the produce department takes over that visual.
Dan: That’s correct. And then the fact we’re 28,000 square feet allows people to get their shopping done in a relatively short time and get back on the road.
PB: We have observed that your open- style layout seems to gravitate employees into the center of the store to interact with customers rather than sending them to aisle 5...
Dan: That’s the third real differenti- ator. You’ll  nd team members on the sales
 oor engaging with customers, providing knowledge, helping them to make decisions perhaps regarding a healthier choice. We’re trying to meet people wherever they are.
PB: Could you give a little more under- standing of the emphasis and breakdown of natural, organic and local?
Dan: The irony is the de nition of local varies depending on who you’re talking to. Our primary interest here is to make certain what we’re putting in our store measures up in terms of  avor, nutritional value, and quality. And that’s our  rst focus. Second- arily, when we’re in a local area, going back to our four pillars, we want to support the community. To the extent there are commu- nity favorites — items that are produced in the community that our guests want to see in our stores — we take an aggressive look to see what we can bring in to satisfy the needs of the local community.
We apply the same kinds of standards to all of our partners, because we want to ensure we are a good guardian of nutrition for our customers.
I will say that we’re exercising a fair amount of scrutiny on all the items we bring to the store, because we want to be known as a reliable source for product, and as a result, we want to be able to understand how these products were prepared, how they were grown and so forth. We apply the same kinds of standards to all of our partners, because we want to ensure we are a good guardian of nutrition for our customers.
PB: Sprouts as a brand signi es certain characteristics...
Dan: I’m not suggesting that individual brands don’t have their own stories, as many of them do and they are wonderful stories. What I think is different is that the Sprouts brand is becoming synonymous with this idea of guardianship of what’s good and nutritional. And we’re protective of that.
Now, I should say one other thing... that it’s not 100 percent of what you  nd in our stores is suited for someone who’s eating completely clean. You’ll  nd some things in our stores that are common items that people have in their pantries or refrigerators. The idea here is that the quality of what we put in the store is high level, and again, we’re not trying to legislate what people eat but to meet people wherever they are.
PB: What are your thoughts on Whole Foods Market and how Sprouts compares? Dan: Each retailer makes its own choices
of what it wants to bring to the community. I would say at Sprouts,  rst and foremost, we want to be inclusive, not exclusive. When we open our doors, we’re here for everyone, and we understand that value is an important equation for consumers today. So, for example, in our signature department of produce we strive to bring a compelling offer to the customer every single day. We realize people work hard for their money, and we’re here to bring a good balance in terms of offer and value.
PB: Some people view buying fresh produce and eating healthy as more expen- sive and out of their league. And you’re trying to change that perception...
Dan: When you get back to our passion statement, it’s really about making healthy eating affordable. I agree with you in that respect that there are a lot of folks who are misguided that they can’t afford to eat well. Sprouts is a contradiction to that.
PB: This has been an inspiring inter- view, especially how you talk about waking up each day for work with a higher purpose
Dan: The thing I’m most pleased with in this particular company, apart from the passion statement and the fact that people do get up inspired to come to work because they know they are helping people: I’m proud we are a high growth company. Progression at our company can be realized in short order. If someone comes to work for Sprouts and has a good attitude and has the ability to retain knowledge, that person can move quickly into positions of greater responsi- bility.
Last year we promoted 23 percent of our people internally. So, if you think of a person who is hitching his or her wagon to a brand to be in retail, this is a company that has a lot of runway in front of it. pb
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