Culture & Values Reinforcement – December 2024

December 16, 2024

Hi team,

This week, we’re celebrating Team Member Appreciation Week—a time to reflect on the incredible work we do to help people live and eat better. Our purpose is more than words and we all play a role in making it come to life.

As part of the celebration, we’re introducing buttons that represent key aspects of our purpose—like “Helping People” or “Growing Together.” These buttons are designed to help you connect with one another, share your stories, and reflect on how you bring our purpose to life.

Action 

Whether you’re participating virtually or in person: 

  • Choose a button that represents your connection to our purpose.  
  • Share a button with a fellow team member who inspires you.  
  • Share a story in your huddles or staff meetings this week recognizing others for making a difference through our purpose. 

Let’s make this week one of gratitude, connection, and celebration. Thank you for all you do to bring our purpose to life! 

Timmi 

Q4 2024 Team Member Appreciation Week

In recognition of our team members, we are celebrating YOU during Team Member Appreciation Week (TMAW). Your hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed!

Everyone who visits the Support Office Tuesday, December 17 through Thursday, December 19 will receive five (5) free raffle tickets! This quarter, we are excited to introduce a VIRTUAL RAFFLE for our fully remote Support Office team members. Read more in the Raffle section below.

Giving Back

Make a donation to Foothills Food Bank & Resource Center to support their mission to provide food, referral information and financial assistance to individuals and families in need within our service area. Learn more about Foothills Food Bank.

Drop off donations in the Support Office lobby Tuesday through Thursday from 8am – 9:30am or at the Front Desk to receive a raffle ticket for each item donated!

Here is Foothills Food Bank December Wish List:

  • Peanut Butter
  • Jelly
  • Canned Tuna & Chicken
  • Soup (Low Sodium)
  • Chili
  • Canned Pasta/Ravioli
  • Canned Fruit
  • Pasta
  • Pasta Sauce
  • Diapers (Size 5, 6)
  • Bottled Water
  • Toilet Paper
  • Paper Towels

TMAW Events

Tuesday, December 17
  • Pick up raffle tickets and drop off donations
  • Breakfast brought to you by the Bakery team and Sprouts Brand – Support Office Lobby – 8am – 9am
  • Sign up for a Professional Headshot timeslot – 2nd Floor Photo Studio – 11am – 1pm
  • Afternoon Sweet Treat Pick Me Up brought to you by Sprouts Brand – Presentation Room – 1pm – 2pm
    • Enjoy hot tea and chocolate plus some to take home!
  • Drop off your raffle tickets in the 3rd Floor Breakroom (in-person) or enter the virtual raffle (fully remote team members only)
Wednesday, December 18
  • Pick up raffle tickets and drop off donations
  • Breakfast brought to you by the Bakery team and Produce – Support Office Lobby – 8am – 9am
  • Catered Lunch brought to you by the Culinary Team – Presentation Room – 11am
  • TMRG Jingle Mingle – Workshop 1 & 2 – 3pm – 4pm
  • Drop off your raffle tickets in the 3rd Floor Breakroom (in-person) or enter the virtual raffle (fully remote team members only)
Thursday, December 19
  • Pick up raffle tickets and drop off donations!
  • Sushi Sampling – Support Office Lobby – 11am – 1pm
  • Drop off your raffle tickets in the 3rd Floor Breakroom (in-person) or enter the virtual raffle (fully remote team members only)
  • Raffle Drawing – Presentation Room – 3pm
Friday, December 20 – Friday, December 27
  • Don’t forget to shop the 30% Team Member Discount

Featured Lunch Menu

Rigatoni a la Vodka with NAE Chicken Sausage

New to the Deli, this pasta features rigatoni pasta, NAE chicken sausage with Parmesan & Pecorino Romano cheeses, and basil in a delicious vodka sauce

Vegan Caesar Salad

New to the Deli, this salad is loaded with healthy greens, crunchy garbanzos, vegan Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, onions, vegan Caesar dressing and topped with sticky sesame chili tofu.

Garlic Bread

Sprouts organic sourdough bread, butter, garlic and grated parmesan cheese.

Assorted Uglies Chips

Sea Salt, BBQ, Salt & Vinegar, Jalapeno, and Sour Cream & Cheddar.

Coconut Chia Parfait

New to the Deli is a coconut chia style pudding, paired with a strawberry compote and fresh cut strawberries.

TMAW Raffle

The raffle drawing will be on Thursday, December 19 @ 3pm in the Presentation Room. Drop off your tickets any time during the week before the raffle takes place in the 3rd floor breakroom (no need to be present!).

Raffle Items:

  • 25% Sprouts Discount for Q1
  • Reserved Team Member Recognition Parking Spot
  • $100 Silk Screen Shirt Inc. Gift Cards
  • $100 Visa Gift Cards
  • Signed Football
  • JBL Vibe Beam Perfect Fit Ear Buds
  • Sprouts Branded Clothing
  • Bellroy Transit Workpack
  • Beautiful Orchid Bouquet
  • Gift Cards from High Street Restaurants & Experiences
  • …. and so much more!

Culture & Values Reinforcement – November 2024

November 20, 2024

Hi Team, 

At Sprouts, our purpose is clear: We help people live and eat better. It’s aspirational yet deeply rooted in who we are. It’s not something new—it’s in our DNA. Now, we’ve simply put it into words.  

Purpose alone isn’t enough. Without values and behaviors, purpose remains just words. It’s through our actions, our decisions, and the way we show up every day that we bring it to life. It’s also a reason why people choose to stay with Sprouts—or why they might decide to leave. We each have a part to play in ensuring our purpose is real, alive, and inspiring.  

 

 

Take a moment and reflect 

  • What impact do you make? 
  • How does your work help others live and eat better? 
  • Who on your team might need help seeing how their work connects to our purpose? 

Take a few moments to think about these questions. Reflect on your own work and consider how you can help someone else feel connected to our purpose. 


Action 

  • Spend time with your team talking about how your work connects to our purpose. Share stories, celebrate wins, and explore ways to make this connection even stronger. 
  • Encourage your team to reflect on their own connection to purpose and write it down on a Post-it. Post-it boards are set up in the Store Support Office (SSO) and in stores this week for everyone to share how their work helps people live and eat better. 

When we align with our purpose, we make an impact—not just on our customers, but on each other as well. Let’s celebrate these connections together and keep building a culture that inspires us all to live and eat better. 

Timmi 

Fantastic Finds – October 2024

 

Read the October Fantastic Finds newsletter to learn about the exciting things happening on (and behind!) the shelves at Sprouts!

We love sharing these products with you so you can share them with customers! Your product knowledge will really go far!

 

 

 

 

 

Community Partners: Fowler Scholars Program

 

Sprouts recently hosted a group of students with the Fowler Scholars program – a cohort of 19 students ranging from freshmen through seniors within the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University. Their mission is to develop ethical business leaders through hands-on experiences and mentorship opportunities.

Every Fowler Scholar engages in a year-long, “real-world” project, working with local businesses to solve current business challenges and opportunities. The program currently has two project teams working with Sprouts covering foot traffic and basket ring.

Hilda Doushgounian, Regional Vice President, spent the day on campus at San Diego State University with students and led a discussion on corporate culture and coaching.

Students in the Fowler Scholars program took a trip to the Support Office in Phoenix, AZ to meet with Alisa Gmelich, Chief Marketing Officer, Marissa Thompson, Vice President Marketing, and Bryan Zavala, Senior Manager Brand Marketing. The Sprouts team shared with the scholars how our values play a role in every business decision and is what makes our stores different from all the rest! Gaining this insight will help the scholars with their year-long projects to analyze current business opportunities.

Culture & Values Reinforcement – October 2024

October 17, 2024

Hello Team,

Coaching is one of the best ways we live out our Sprouts values—showing Care, taking Ownership, and embracing what makes us Different. It’s not about providing solutions but empowering our team members with the skills, confidence, and support to grow. As we continue to grow as a company, coaching will be key in strengthening our culture and supporting each other’s development.

If you attended SproutsCon, you’re probably familiar with these coaching concepts and have started putting them into practice. For our Store Support and Distribution Center teams, we’ll be leaning into these same coaching principles this month. Together, we’ll use these tools to grow, working as one team with a shared approach to development.

Coaching Through Powerful Questions
At the heart of effective coaching are powerful questions. When we ask questions like “What steps can we take to make this better?” or “How can we ensure this issue doesn’t happen again?”, we’re shifting from telling to collaborating. This isn’t just about finding the right answer—it’s about encouraging critical thinking and giving our team members the space to come up with solutions themselves.

By asking thoughtful, open-ended questions, we’re showing Care—we’re telling our team members that their input and growth matter. This approach also helps them Own It by encouraging them to take responsibility for their work and decisions.

 

The Coaching Continuum
Coaching is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We move along the coaching continuum, sometimes giving direct instructions and other times focusing on collaboration and empowerment. It’s all about finding the right balance and meeting our team members where they are.

When we use the continuum effectively, we’re not just managing tasks—we’re developing leaders who can think critically and independently. By moving from directive to collaborative approaches, we’re empowering team members to learn, grow, and embrace new challenges with confidence.

Action and Reflection: Putting it into Practice

  • ACTION: This week, be intentional about coaching your team. Look for opportunities to ask questions that start with “How” and “What” to foster problem-solving and deeper thinking.
  • REFLECTION: Where do you find yourself spending most of your time on the coaching continuum? Are you leading through telling or coaching? Think about where you might shift more into the coaching mindset to help your team members develop their independence and ownership.

At Sprouts, coaching reflects our values in action. It’s not just about helping team members perform tasks; it’s about guiding them to grow, solve problems, and step into their potential. Coaching reinforces the culture of care that makes Sprouts a unique place to work, where we’re committed to supporting each other and elevating the entire team.

2025 Benefits Open Enrollment

Visit bewell.sprouts.com today!

This year’s Benefit Open Enrollment runs from October 28, 2024 – November 11, 2024. During open enrollment you’ll be able to select or make changes to your coverage for 2025 benefits.

Please review your benefit options, your current elections will roll over into 2025 except your Flexible Spending Account (FSA). If you are currently enrolled in an FSA, you must re-elect coverage for 2025. You must log into MyHR by Monday, November 11, 2024, if you want to make changes to your benefit elections for next year. Please make sure to review the new benefit offerings if your group number is changing.

Remember your medical plan will have a big impact on your healthcare experience, so it’s an important decision. Luckily, we’re here to help guide you through the research and enrollment process. View the Medical Plan Cost Estimator tool. https://www.medplancompare.com/Sprouts/

Visit our dedicated benefits website loaded with health and wellness information, and information to help you make your benefits elections.

Here’s what’s new for 2025

  • Starting January 2025, all life, disability and voluntary benefits will move from Unum to Lincoln Financial. We are excited to announce enhancements to the Accident, Group Hospital and Critical Illness plans and lower rates. Please review the Open Enrollment Guide for more detailed information. The complete guide can be found on BeWell.
  • If you are a Group 1-2 and not currently enrolled in Long Term Disability or a Group 3 not enrolled in Voluntary Short Term Disability but would like to elect it for 2025, now is the time! All new enrollments will be guaranteed issue, no evidence of insurability required.
  • Supplemental Life insurance will be guaranteed issue up to $300,000 for team members and $30,000 for spouses for Group 1-2, and $100,000 for team members in Group 3. Make sure you designate a beneficiary!
  • Healthcare costs continue to increase nationwide. As a result, medical plan rates are also increasing slightly for 2025. At Sprouts, we know managing the weekly amount coming out of your paycheck and access to medical providers is important. We’ve worked hard to keep your costs as low as possible and will continue to pay at least 70% of your health care premiums in 2025.

More Helpful Resources

Did you know you can make a phone appointment with a benefits counselor? Starting on October 14, 2024, you can book a phone appointment with benefits counselors. Appointments will be scheduled October 29 – November 11. To set up an appointment, visit https://openenrollment.sprouts.com. Appointments are limited, so make yours today.

Questions? Submit a ticket with the HR Support Portal.

Round Up for Hurricane Relief

 

As a company and a community, we are all deeply committed to supporting people impacted by the severe hurricanes in the southeast. To show our support, Sprouts is redirecting 100% of our “round up” prompt at the register to support disaster relief and response efforts.

Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee Stores
All stores in these states are raising funds to support local disaster relief efforts from Hurricane Helene. All funds raised in each state will remain local. In addition, Sprouts has also made a $125,000 donation through our Foundation to support relief efforts in these communities.

All Remaining Stores Will Round Up for Florida Disaster Relief
Starting October 10, all remaining stores will help raise funds to support people impacted by hurricanes in Florida. Sprouts is also making a $500,000 donation through our Foundation to the Florida Disaster Relief Fund, a trusted nonprofit that is helping to lead disaster relief efforts across the state. Over 350 Sprouts stores nationwide are helping to support this effort.

Please remember, this is an emotional time. Lead this effort with compassion, understanding that the importance is showing our support for our community, not trying to drive large donations, or having our customers in any way feel pressure to participate. Please be sure our Front-End teams understand this and feel appreciated for their assistance in this program.

If you have any questions, or need assistance, please reach out to Lyndsey Waugh, Executive Director, Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation.

As a company, we are dedicated to providing support for those affected by the storms in the southeast. If you are looking for a way to help those impacted, you can choose to donate some of your vacation time. Please complete this form and submit it to the payroll team for processing. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity during this time.

Sprouts Day of Service 2024

 

On Saturday, November 9, Team Members from across the country will unite for our annual Sprouts Day of Service. Over 50 events are planned for this year, bringing Sprouts value of caring for our community to life in a meaningful way. Projects include school garden work days, shifts packing weekend hunger backpacks, and more. The deadline to register is Sunday, October 27.

We do our best to host as many events as possible; however, not all communities have a volunteer project. In 2025, we plan to scale our capacity to host volunteer events. This will result in more frequent volunteer projects happening in more cities. Stay tuned!

States impacted by recent hurricane activity will have the opportunity to participate in future Day of Service projects scheduled for December or January. This includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation has made a $175,000 donation to support recovery efforts across in these communities.

Questions? Please contact Erika Karner at volunteer@sprouts.com

SproutsCon 2024 | That’s A Wrap!

 

SproutsCon 2024 was a magical weekend together in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney World with our Store Managers, Vitamin Managers, Produce Managers, and (for the first time ever!) Deli Managers. The team spent September 20-22nd together at the Swan and Dolphin resort learning about our purpose – we help people live and eat better.

But what happens at SproutsCon, doesn’t stay at SproutsCon! From inspiring keynote speakers to engaging breakout sessions, leaders learned ways to dive deeper with their teams, bringing coaching concepts to life. SproutsCon is just the beginning!

Here is a quick snapshot of what happened over the weekend:

We rolled out the green carpet for SproutsCon attendees on Friday! With a first look at our purpose statement, team members were invited to share how they help live our purpose at Sprouts on post its. A mural artist took the post it notes and brought them to life on stage over the weekend.

Starting Friday, team members were invited to visit Activation Booths to explore new ideas and initiatives from Sprouts Brand, Foraging, The Orchard, Ecommerce, Information Technology, Foundation, and more!

Our stores have always helped their customers and communities live and eat better. Jack Sinclair, our CEO, started off Saturday morning by sharing a conversation he had with Stan Boney, the son of Henry Boney. Stan opened the first Spouts Farmers Market with his son, Shon, in 2002. Our stores have cared about the quality and uniqueness of our product offerings from the very start. To hear the whole conversation on the origin of our purpose, click here.

Nick Konat, our COO, and Dustin Hamilton, our CSO, talked about our purpose, this is our “why”. Understanding how we each connect to our shared purpose will shape the important work we do each day.  They discussed how our team members bring our purpose to life because we care, own it and love being different.

There was an exciting cameo from Darth Vader (a.k.a. Curtis Valentine, our CFO) to discuss how the company is performing financially but luckily Luke Skywalker (a.k.a. Nick Konat, our COO) came to the rescue!

Jay Shetty, founder of Juni Sparkling Drinks, and well-known comedian, podcaster, etc. was our featured keynote speaker on Saturday before we headed off to the vendor tradeshow. Jay got us up on our feet and talked about perspective and purpose.

Kim Coffin, our Chief Forager, invited three vendors to the stage: Wild Society Nutrition, Anew Water, and Mama Bird. These vendors participated in a Shark Tank style Pitch Slam covering their purpose and product. By participating in a live Pitch Slam, each of these vendors were competing for a spot on our shelves. Our team members voted and Anew Water, a reusable and renewable alternative to single use water bottles, was selected as the winner!

Team members had Saturday afternoon to network with our vendors at the tradeshow! Vendors from each category were excited to join us this year at SproutsCon – produce, grocery, vitamins, deli – you name it! Sprouties were excited to connect with the products that make our stores unique!

We got spirit? Yeah! From a Galaxy Far Far Away to Neverland, our districts showed off their creativity at Saturday Night’s Dinner & Awards Ceremony in their Best of Disney attire.

After dinner, we held our annual awards ceremony. For more information on award winners, click here.

We saved the best of SproutsCon for last! On Sunday, we started off our morning with an open Q&A session with our Executive Leadership Team and a giant check presentation from our Foundation to a local nonprofit, Hebni Nutrition Consultants in Orlando, FL. Hebni will use the Foundation’s $250,000 donation to expand their Fresh Stop Mobile Market, a repurposed bus created to serve underserved neighborhoods. To learn more about Hebni, click here.

Store managers and department managers then made their way to breakout sessions – covering topics related to their roles and diving deeper into coaching skills they can take back to their store teams.

In our closing session, we heard from our last keynote speaker, Eric Boles who talked unleashing your potential and the potential of those around us. Even oak trees start as an acorn!

Dustin Hamilton closed out our action-packed weekend and spoke on how purpose is a critical component of our long-term success. It’s not just about what we do but why we do it.  When we feel inspired to live our purpose and devote time to coaching each day, our customers feel our commitment to first-class customer service. At Sprouts, we help people live and eat better.

Be on the lookout for more SproutsCon resources, coming soon to the Vine!