Whole Foods Names Suppliers of the Year
Whole Foods Market has revealed the winners of its seventh annual Supplier Awards, which honor companies that embody the grocer’s mission and values through their proven commitment to quality, environmental stewardship, organic integrity, innovation and partnership.
“We’re proud to recognize these suppliers who offer outstanding products aligned with our mission, values and the high quality standards that we’ve championed for nearly 40 years,” said A.C. Gallo, president and chief merchandising officer at Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods. “This year’s honorees were selected from thousands of brands and represent the best-in-class in sourcing, industry-leading innovation and win-win partnership.”
A total of 30 awards were given out at a reception held in Whole Foods’ hometown. Two global suppliers and 11 regional suppliers were recognized as suppliers of the Year. The remaining awards honored companies for outstanding achievements in various categories that reflect Whole Foods' core values. The honorees were selected by the grocer's category experts and buyers.
The Suppliers of the Year were:
- Global Supplier of the Year & Environmental Stewardship: Wild Planet Foods
- Global Supplier of the Year & Purpose Driven Empowerment: Luke’s Lobster
- Florida Region: Aramouni International Inc. and Nature's Healthy Gourmet Inc.
- Mid-Atlantic Region: Inspire Pure Botanicals
- Midwest Region: Fillo's Americas Made
- North Atlantic Region: UTEC Inc.
- Northern California Region: Humphry Slocombe
- Northeast Region: Crown Finish Caves
- Pacific Northwest Region: Woodlot
- Rocky Mountain Region: SoulRise Tribe
- South Region: La Farm Bakery
- South Pacific Region: Pensieve Foods LLC
- Southwest Region: Val Verde Vegetable Co. Inc.
Whole Foods has almost 500 stores in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Under its parent company, Seattle-based Amazon, the retailer is No. 8 on Progressive Grocer’s 2018 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.
