We love our partners at Sprouts Farmers Market! And Alex's Dad...
Fun story behind this photo. As all of you startup folks out there know, it takes a village. Especially in the early years when resources are limited and growth is fast and furious. When we launched with Sprouts Farmers Market last year we knew we needed to invest in our retail execution game so we tapped into our village and engaged my Dad, Kent, to help. Kent is retired and can only play so much pickleball so he was happy to step up and excited to get out there and build relationships at the store level. In a conversation with Katie Woodcock I mentioned how my Dad helped out to ensure great merchandising and support at the stores and she got a kick out of our approach. We were planning a visit to see Katie and her team so I proposed that I bring Kent along to meet them. Our visit ended up falling on the week of Kent’s birthday, so in keeping with Sprouts tradition he was greeted in the lobby by the life size Taylor Swift cutout that lives with each Sprouts team member on their birthday. Taylor was wearing a lanyard with a photo of Kent at a Sprouts store and a message saying “Happy Birthday to the guy who keeps us looking good! Thanks for all you do for Sprouts!” To me, this is what business is all about. I’m so grateful to the team at Sprouts for continuing to invest not only in our category and our business, but in the personal relationships that make doing business together so rewarding. Serendipitous that this scenario involved my Dad as he is the one who instilled that mentality in me from the very beginning. Oh, and look out for Improv Non-Alcoholic Craft Cocktails Strawberry Margarita launching in Sprouts April 1! Karen Martinez Hunter LaRavia Amanda Thompson