<p>Shoppers, especially those who are health-conscious, are gravitating more often toward <B>food-attribute shopping</b>, which is searching for items that are labeled <B>organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, non-dairy</b>, said Sprouts Farmers Market CEO Doug Sanders. As Sprouts begins moving into the new Southeast U.S. market with at least <B>four stores in metro Atlanta this summer</b>, the company is capitalizing on this "food attribute" strategy to further differentiate itself from the traditional supermarkets that focus more on the heavy-hitting CPG-brands.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img class="small-cropped-image" src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacySmallCroppedImages/sprouts052114ban.jpg" alt="cropped_images_052114" /> “The typical supermarket approach to natural foods has been to stock the top 20% of SKUs in their stores,” said Sanders. “<B>Where Sprouts has an advantage is going to be on the offering itself.</b> We’re shifting away from CPG-brands and moving toward food attribute focused shopping.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> By giving shoppers a broader selection of attribute-specific foods, Sanders hopes he can make Sprouts a part of their weekly grocery shopping trip. He believes that part of Sprouts’ success in the competitive market is because of it has never strayed from its core fundamentals – <B>providing value and natural foods to the everyday traditional supermarket consumer.</b> This focus is what kept the retailer steady in a volatile organic space, as well as the wide range of products, product knowledge, authenticity of a natural foods store, and great service and pricing, said Sanders.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> <B>Produce is still Sprouts’ key driver.</b> “We price check about thirty competitors per week on produce, he said, noting that Sprouts goes to market with fresh produce as its lead. Other departments may price check on a monthly or weekly basis at other natural and traditional supermarkets to maintain price positioning, he added.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> And here's what else I really thought was fascinating about Sprouts. Sanders also briefly touched upon Sprouts’ strategy in terms of its employees, as they’re the ones who help drive the sales in-store. “<B>We like to promote within</b> because there’s a level of product knowledge that you need to have to meet the needs of the customer,” he said. “The more we teach them about our products, the more product trials we can promote, and we can transition the consumer to visit Sprouts in their weekly shopping trip.” He explained that 700 employees were promoted from within just in the first quarter alone.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> And to top it all off, he discussed Sprouts’ future in the Southeast. “In Atlanta, we studied the entire market. Where’s our customer, where should we land? We think it’s a great market for us and we look forward to it. <B>We’re looking at a full Southeast expansion plan.</b> Atlanta isn’t the end. We’ll be expanding in the Southeast for quite a few years.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> We previously analyzed how Sprouts' move into the Southeast will influence The Fresh Market's market share. <B>Will these two retailers merge or continue competing?</b> Check out our last article here...</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.andnowuknow.com/buyside-news/how-will-sprouts-farmers-markets-expansion-southeast-influence-fresh-markets-market-share/11085/christofer-oberst" target="_new"> Click here to read: How Will Sprouts Farmer's Market's Expansion into the Southeast Influence The Fresh Market's Market Share? </a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Where will Sprouts make its next move, and how might “food attribute shopping” continue to evolve for the health-conscious shopper? It’ll be interesting to see how this strategy works with so many other players in organic foods, like Whole Foods and Wal-Mart. Stay tuned as we keep an eye on Sprouts’ strategy and its move into the Southeast. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://investors.sprouts.com" target="_new"> Sprouts Farmers Market </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
