Austin-based Whole Foods opens application process for brands seeking to land on its shelves

Do you or someone you know have a food product you think should be on the shelves of Whole Foods?

Now is your chance to give it a shot.

Austin-based Whole Foods Market has opened the application process for its 2024 Local and Emerging Accelerator Program, called LEAP, as it seeks 10 innovative food brands not yet sold in Whole Foods stores.

Launched in 2022, LEAP aims to advance Whole Foods' partnerships with local and emerging suppliers by creating mentorship opportunities for cohort participants with Whole Foods Market experts and tailored educational programming.

Selected participants for the early growth cohort will undergo a 12-week educational curriculum, and, once complete, will be considered for placement on the grocer's shelves in their home city or area.

The businesses will also be eligible for a $25,000 equity investment from a donor-advised fund managed by the Austin Community Foundation.

The 2024 cohort application process for the natural foods grocery chain's LEAP program is open through April 19.

“Whole Foods Market deeply values the connections to local and emerging brands, enriched by the LEAP program,” said Alyssa Vescio, senior vice president of merchandising at Whole Foods Market.

“By equipping emerging brands with the necessary tools, education, and access, we’re not just fostering their growth — we’re cultivating a dynamic platform for creativity, innovation, and positive change that resonates with our purpose to nourish people and the planet," Vescio said.

What about small suppliers already selling at Whole Foods?

In 2023, a second LEAP cohort began, called On the Verge, to deepen relationships and foster growth with local and emerging suppliers currently carried in select Whole Foods stores.

Whole Foods said these brands demonstrate serious growth potential, have a finger on the pulse of trends and align with Whole Foods Market’s values and priorities.

The brands participating in On the Verge in 2024 include Dare Vegan Cheese, Evergreen, Funky Mello, Myles Comfort Food, Painterland Sisters, The Organic Pantry Co., Shar, Sinto Gourmet and Uncle Waithley's.

“Our 2024 On the Verge cohort participants have truly impressed the Whole Foods Market team with their innovation, dedication and vision, and we’re thrilled to help them explore the next phase of their brand growth,” said Kelly Landrieu, principal planner for local & emerging brands.

“Mentoring these brands-to-watch is one of the most exciting and personal ways we can be hands-on with emerging producers and uplift them in our stores," Landrieu said.

What are some success stories?

Nguyen Coffee Supply and Jaju Pierogi are examples of how the program can lift local and regional brands.

Nguyen Coffee Supply, founded in 2018 by Sahra Nguyen in Brooklyn, N.Y., is America’s first specialty Vietnamese coffee company. Nguyen Coffee Supply launched nationally at Whole Foods Market after completing the inaugural LEAP On the Verge cohort in 2023.

“Entering retail and executing on everything from inventory planning, route to market and promotional strategy can be very overwhelming for first time founders/brands," founder and CEO Sahra Nguyen said in a statement.

"With LEAP, it felt like we were truly cared for and were provided a safe space to ask questions and accelerate our learning on everything from marketing to execution, as well as provided mentors and peers to support along the way," Nguyen said.

Meanwhile, Jaju Pierogi, was founded in Lynn, Mass. by two sisters using their grandfather’s Polish pierogi recipes. The company launched in select Whole Foods Market stores in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire and Rhode Island in December 2023 after completing the 2023 Early Growth LEAP Cohort.

Whole Foods began as a single local store

The company, one of Austin's most successful startup stories, was founded with a single Whole Foods store on North Lamar Boulevard in 1980.

It grew into a chain of more than 460 stores by the time it was sold to Amazon in 2017 in a deal valued at $13.7 billion. Today it operates 530 stores across the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

More: Whole Foods co-founder, CEO John Mackey to retire after four decades with company

Earlier this month, Whole Foods announced a new format, called Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, that will feature locations ranging from 7,000 to 14,000 square feet, about a quarter to half the footprint of an average 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market store.

The first Whole Foods Market Daily Shops will be located on the Upper East Side in Manhattan with additional locations in New York City expected to open later in 2024.

After the New York City launch, Whole Foods said it plans to bring the format to other cities across the country. The company did not say whether Austin is on the list for a smaller format store.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin-based Whole Foods Market opens applications for LEAP program