Supermarkets under Amazon have nurtured multiple "unicorns," which have been acquired by PepsiCo, Lactalis, and Kellogg's.

A supermarket can also become an "incubator."

In March this year, PepsiCo acquired the prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $1.95 billion. Poppi first caught consumers' attention through the shelves of Whole Foods Market, an American retailer of natural and organic foods, and was later acquired by the industry giant.

Poppi beverages. Image source: Poppi

Whole Foods Market has indeed become a "big shelf" for innovative products.

For the honey lemonade brand Me & the Bees, its founder participated in a seminar at Whole Foods Market when she was 8 years old. After setting up a lemonade stand near her home for five years, Whole Foods Market became the first major retailer to carry its products. When Nature’s Fynd, a company invested in by Bill Gates, launched the "world's first" fungal protein yogurt, it reached an exclusive cooperation agreement with Whole Foods Market, and the product was only available at Whole Foods Market. The sugar-free flavored water Hint, popular in Silicon Valley, was first launched at Whole Foods Market, and the brand's valuation exceeded $200 million in 2021.

Whether it's a star brand eventually acquired by a giant or an innovative product just starting out, Whole Foods Market has provided irreplaceable support at the crucial stage of their development. It serves as a "testing ground" for brands to reach their target consumers and provides an invisible "endorsement" for these less well-known brands. Without being noticed, Whole Foods Market has taken on a role beyond that of a distribution channel.

Nature’s Fynd. Image source: Nature’s Fynd

01

The First Shelf for Unicorns Poppi and Hint

In March this year, the prebiotic soda brand Poppi was acquired by PepsiCo for $1.95 billion. Over the course of a decade, after being sold through channels such as home kitchens and farmers' markets, the product made its way onto the shelves of Whole Foods Market. Subsequently, the founder appeared on a startup program, and finally, the brand was acquired by PepsiCo. Whole Foods Market became a crucial link in its journey towards large-scale and brand development.

Initially, the beverages made by Poppi's founder, Allison, were only shared among friends and family. Encouraged by her family, Allison decided to bring this homemade drink to the market. Her first step was to set up a small stall at the local farmers' market and start with the most basic retail business.

No one expected that this small brand, which had just established itself at the farmers' market, would experience a turning point in just three weeks - and it was all thanks to Whole Foods Market. Allison said that at that time, Poppi had only gained a little popularity at the farmers' market when the purchasing department of Whole Foods Market approached her and asked if she wanted to place her products on the supermarket's shelves.

Poppi beverages. Image source: Poppi

For Poppi at that time, entering Whole Foods Market was both an opportunity and a challenge.

At that time, the brand's production mode was still in the "manual stage": Allison spent 10 hours a day manually filling the beverages, and such production capacity was far from meeting the supermarket's supply requirements. However, the offer from Whole Foods Market made her realize that this was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

To seize it, Allison and her husband quit their jobs without hesitation and raised $125,000 for large-scale production. "To sell in stores, we must have a commercial kitchen as support. We immediately signed a lease and officially formulated the brand's growth plan." [1]

With this determination, Poppi quickly made the leap from a "handicraft workshop" to "standardized production" and successfully entered the local Whole Foods Market. With the help of the precise health - conscious consumer group and the channel endorsement of Whole Foods Market, Poppi's business quickly got on track. In 2018, the brand was also invited to appear on "Shark Tank." The Allison couple impressed the investors on the show, injecting new impetus into the subsequent scale expansion.

Today, Poppi has long since gone beyond the shelves of Whole Foods Market. It has entered more than 120 mainstream retailers in the United States, including Costco, Target, 7 - Eleven, and Kroger, with a comprehensive offline distribution network. It also performs well online. According to Food Dive, Poppi is one of the best - selling beverage brands on the Amazon platform. [2]

Poppi beverages. Image source: Poppi

If Poppi's case demonstrates the keen sense of smell of Whole Foods Market's buyers, then the story of another beverage, Hint, reflects the inclusiveness and friendliness of Whole Foods Market towards new brands.

The sugar-free flavored water Hint also took its first step at Whole Foods Market. The founder, Goldin, hoped to target health - conscious consumers, and Whole Foods Market was the most frequented channel for these people. So, she actively sought advice from Whole Foods Market during the product development stage and even piqued the interest of the regional manager before the product was officially launched.

However, after Goldin submitted the product information to Whole Foods Market, she received no response to her emails or calls. [3] To strive for the opportunity to enter Whole Foods Market, Goldin decided to take the initiative.

The day after the product was launched, she directly brought 10 cases of Hint to Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods Market gave Goldin a chance and let these 10 cases of beverages "test the waters" in the supermarket. The final result was unexpected: all 10 cases of Hint were sold out the next day. [4]

Hint beverages. Image source: Hint

Of course, not all partnerships can stay in the "honeymoon period" forever.

During the 2008 economic crisis, many retailers that Hint collaborated with were cutting costs and asking the brand for discounts. As Hint's most important channel at that time, Whole Foods Market also put forward a request: it hoped that Hint would offer a "buy one, get one free" promotion.

However, this request would directly halve Hint's price and its profit. Goldin firmly opposed it - she believed that discounts would dilute the brand value and was convinced that as long as Hint refused to lower the price, it would surely achieve more growth after the crisis. To persuade Whole Foods Market, Goldin communicated repeatedly, and her firm belief in the brand finally impressed the other party, and Whole Foods Market agreed to accept her proposal. [3]

Hint beverages. Image source: Hint

02

Both a Channel and an Incubator for New Products

Like Poppi and Hint, food and beverage unicorns that have emerged from the shelves of Whole Foods Market are not an isolated case.

In 2024, the American plant-based brand Siete was acquired by PepsiCo for $1.2 billion. This was PepsiCo's first foray into the food business acquisition in the past five years. The "Austin Business Journal," which focuses on business reports in the Austin area, once introduced the Siete brand and stated that "Siete's growth is closely related to its cooperation with Whole Foods Market." [5]

Whole Foods Market can indeed be regarded as a catalyst for the growth of this company.

In 2014, Siete was founded. In the following year (2015), it began to actively seek communication opportunities with Whole Foods Market, such as sending multiple emails to introduce the product advantages of its almond tortillas - from the selection of raw materials to the design of taste were clearly presented in the emails. Finally, Whole Foods Market was impressed by the content of these emails. In 2023, a grain-free tortilla chip launched by Siete was selected by Whole Foods Market as one of the "Top Ten Most Notable Food Industry Innovation Trends."

Miguel Garza, the CEO of Siete, sighed: "We 'knocked on the door' of Whole Foods Market many times at that time. At first, the responses were not clear, and we even had to wait in uncertainty for many times. However, we always believed that our almond tortillas could meet consumers' needs for health and deliciousness, so we promoted our products again and again. Finally, we received a positive reply and successfully placed our products on the shelves of the Lamar flagship store of Whole Foods Market." [5]

Siete tortillas. Image source: Siete

Garza said that Siete also cooperated with Whole Foods Market in the launch of innovative products. In 2024, the two parties jointly launched the company's condiment series. In 2023, Siete's one product was selected by Whole Foods Market as one of the "Top Ten Most Notable Food Industry Innovation Trends."

Alyssa Vescio, the senior vice president of the market center stores, procurement, and product development at Whole Foods Market, said in an email: "Siete has never stopped focusing on its customers and has launched new products including salsas, chips, puffs, tortilla chips, and condiments. We are very grateful for their dedication to customers, which has contributed to their success at Whole Foods Market and in the entire industry." [5]

Siete tortillas. Image source: Siete

The natural nut butter brand Justin’s and the Icelandic-style yogurt brand Siggi’s are also unicorn companies that emerged from Whole Foods Market.

In 2003, the founder of Justin’s started by selling homemade organic nut butter at farmers' markets and entered Whole Foods Market the following year. The founder used to deliver goods to Whole Foods Market in person and was in charge of the tasting station to get direct feedback from customers and continuously improve the product taste.

In 2008, Justin’s products were available in Whole Foods Market stores across the country. In the next year, it expanded to other channels such as Wegmans and Safeway. In 2016, it was acquired by Hormel, an American processed meat company, for $296 million, completing the leap from a new player in the channel to an industry unicorn.

Justin’s. Image source: Hormel Foods

Siggi’s underwent a "transformation" after entering Whole Foods Market and feeling the pressure of large-scale production.

In 2008, Siggi’s began selling in 10 - 15 Whole Foods Market stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan. After being put on the shelves, the demand soared, and the supply chain even collapsed. The founder, Siggi Hilmarsson, admitted that this was when he realized the great significance of entering Whole Foods Market: "As soon as we put our products on the shelves of Whole Foods Market, the supply chain collapsed. We couldn't keep up with the demand, so we had to close the factory for 3 - 4 months and rebuild it." [7].

After surviving the crisis, Siggi’s once became the best - selling yogurt brand at Whole Foods Market and was acquired by the French dairy giant Lactalis in 2018. [8]

According to incomplete statistics by FBIF, from Poppi to Hint, and from Justin’s to Siggi’s Dairy, at least five unicorn brands entered Whole Foods Market at their startup stage. These brands have entered the public eye through this platform. After achieving high valuations, they may be acquired by food giants and embark on a global development path.

Image source: Compiled by FBIF

From these cases, we can see that Whole Foods Market is not only an important sales channel but also plays a role similar to an incubation platform.

The high - end ice cream brand Coolhaus and the energy bar brand RXBAR [9], although not first launched at Whole Foods Market, were among the early national retail channels that accepted these brands [10]. The founder of Me & the Bees Lemonade was an 8 - year - old girl. Whole Foods Market not only invited her to participate in seminars but also placed a million - dollar order for the brand's products. Me & the Bees Lemonade also achieved nearly a five - fold increase in sales revenue in ten years [11]. The CEO of the plant - based meat company Impossible Foods said in 2024 that