Can Sprouts Reach 1,400 US Stores While ‘Ignoring’ a Huge Cohort of Grocery Shoppers?

During the Groceryshop conference held in Las Vegas, on Sept. 29 CEO Jack Sinclair spoke to the company’s most recent successes as well as its future goals.

According to Modern Retail’s Mitchell Parton, Sinclair highlighted the fact that Sprouts Farmers Market had crossed the 450 stores across 24 states mark in 2025, with optimistic hopes to eventually grow that number to 1,400 stores from coast-to-cost in the United States. And while Sinclair didn’t place a firm timeline on that goal — although Sprouts is slated to open 35 new stores by the end of the year — he did reiterate the grocer’s focus on a subset of grocery shoppers he deemed health-conscious.

“The U.S. food market … is about $1.6 trillion; we’re focusing in on $250 billion of that number,” Sinclair said.

“We’re ignoring a huge chunk of the food industry to focus in on those health enthusiast customers,” he added.

Sprouts may actually have the footing for expansionary plans. The grocer exhibited an 18% increase in net sales (totaling $4.5 billion) in H1 2025, and net income grew from ~$209 million in H1 2024 to ~$314 million in the same time frame this year.

Growth plans are currently limited by the placement of new distribution centers, as Sinclair noted that stores need to be within a 250 mile radius of these distribution centers in order to deliver the fresh produce, which accounts for 20% of the grocer’s sales, to expectant customers.

“We’re trying to go from sea to shining sea,” Sinclair said.

“But there are lots of markets where we [don’t have] distribution capacity, and it’s a little bit chicken [or the] egg. … You have to have density around your distribution center, so that will be an evolution as we work through other states in the country and try and get closer to 50 states than 24,” he added.

Sprouts To Rely on Unique ‘DNA’ and Evolving Product Roster of ‘New, Interesting Ideas’ as Differentiator

If Sprouts wants to succeed in its ambitious growth plan, Sinclair underscored the differentiators as making the difference between itself and the larger competition squeezing shoppers for spend.

For one, the grocer has enjoyed “a really interesting DNA right from the very outset of the company,” with its unique floor plan offering meats up front and produce in the back all taking on a “low-profile” feel to enhance visibility through the entire footprint.

“You look and you can see all the way through,” Sinclair said, emphasizing the longer sight lines and lighting fixtures combining to enhance a sense of openness, rather than anything claustrophobic.

“A lot of grocery stores, all around the world… they’re a little bit like rabbit warrens, where they’re very tall and you get kind of caught in the middle of these aisles. It’s efficient, but it’s a bit restricting,” the CEO added.

Aside from that, Sprouts stands behind its vitamins and supplements categories in opposition to housing an in-store pharmacy, which Sinclair noted the brand decidedly is against including in its locations. The natural health appeal continues to bulk foods (coffee, rice, nuts, dried fruits) and “innovation centers” playing home to a revolving inventory of up-and-coming products which are often new to Sprouts.

“We want to be the place where brands are evolving and developing,” Sinclair said. “They can move on and be in all the other supermarkets two or three years later, but the reality for us is we want to be the founding ground for these new, interesting ideas.”

This could be wise, given that Sinclair noted that, with Sprouts being a strong supplemental destination in addition to traditional grocers, it relies on acting as an alternative — albeit an alternative with a loyal customer base, which is seen as foundational to further expansion.

“Our challenge going forward will be taking that information and taking that data from customers, and starting to be much more personal as people go through this health journey,” Sinclair said of Sprouts’ new-and-growing loyalty program.

“There’s a lot of diversity in how they think: Some people are gluten-free, some people have dairy allergies, some people are vegan, some people are vegetarian, some people want grass-fed beef. How do we take all of that information and become more personalized? How do we make it come alive for our customers in both how we promote and how we communicate?” he concluded.