Cultivating partnerships with local & emerging producers is something that just comes, well, naturally to us at Whole Foods Market. Read on to learn more about the Whole Foods Market Local & Emerging Acceleration Program (LEAP)!

Last March we announced the Whole Foods Market Local and Emerging Accelerator Program, and put out a call for applications for the first cohort, LEAP: Early Growth (Read the Article).  We received over 500 applications and selected a group of small, new-to-Whole Foods Market brands (Read the Article; Read the Article) to participate in 14 weeks of education, panels, and mentorships. The cohort graduated from the program in early November, and have started launching in their home metro or region’s stores.

Have a small brand you’d like to see on the shelves of your local Whole Foods Market?  Read on for more information about what we are looking for and how to apply.

Selected cohort members’ products will gain placement on the shelves of their home metro’s Whole Foods Market stores. This means that their business and products will need to meet all Whole Foods Market requirements prior to gaining shelf placement, including but not limited to:

• Aligning with our Quality Standards (more information available here)
• Meeting our food/product safety requirements (more information available here)
• Meeting our business requirements (ex: liability insurance, production in a certified commercial facility, and transparent sourcing practices, etc)

Unfortunately we are unable to consider alcoholic beverage brands for the Local and Emerging Accelerator Program.  Please follow the instructions on the New Item Submissions page of the WFM Supplier Portal (registration and login required) to submit alcoholic beverage products for consideration by the Adult Beverage team.

In addition to consideration for placement in their home metro’s Whole Foods Market stores, LEAP: Early Growth cohort members will:

• Participate in our accelerator curriculum taught by Whole Foods Market subject matter experts and trusted industry partners
• Participate in two round robin mentorship sessions
• Be paired with a Whole Foods Market forager for a year-long mentorship
• Be considered for potential financial support to accelerate their growth

Selected founders and brand representatives will be asked to commit to virtually attending weekly classes for a period of 8 to 10 weeks (each class will be approximately 2 hours long). Participants will also have one meeting per month with their Whole Foods Market Local Forager.

Application available here.  2024 Application Selection Timeline and important dates below:

• March 7–April 19: Application Window Open
• April 19–May 31: Application Review Period
• June: Finalist Interviews
• July: LEAP Cohorts Announced

LEAP: On the Verge is focused on Whole Foods Market suppliers in Center Store, who are currently in up to two regions, show strong growth and high potential, who are innovative in trends, flavors, community engagement or sustainability, are mission & values aligned to Whole Foods Market.  Application to LEAP: On the Verge is by invite only.