Tucson's four Sunflower Farmers Market signs will soon come down, but what consumers love about the natural-foods chain shouldn't disappear entirely.
Sprouts Farmers Markets, which announced the purchase of Sunflower in March, plans to re-brand the stores in its own name and image but keep some of what made Sunflower popular. That includes its wide array of organic produce and relatively cheap prices.
Sprouts President Doug Sanders said he hopes to create a hybrid of the two chains that highlights the strength of each.
"Our goal through the entire process is to blend stores," Sanders said in an interview.
That will likely mean combining the best of Sprouts' organic meats with the best of Sunflower's organic vegetables and combining the chains' two private-label operations.
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It will also include listening to what shoppers want, Sanders said.
The company is not against bringing back products that consumers miss, he said.
It did so after its merger with Henry's Farmers Market - originally owned by the Sprouts founders - last year.
"We learned from it," Sanders said. "It will take about a year to fine-tune the pricing and product mix."
Sprouts is based in Phoenix and plans to begin the re-branding process there.
Tucson shoppers should expect to see the transformation begin in earnest Aug. 6, but they may have already noticed small changes. The shopping carts already read Sprouts Farmers Market on their handles.
In August, exterior signs will be changed out, and Sprouts will install its own interior décor. Product changes will happen more gradually, Sanders said.
Sunflower shoppers say they aren't dismayed by the change but they're watching for rising prices, especially in produce and supplements, two of the chain's biggest draws.
"I wouldn't care as long as the prices don't go up," said Kelsey Mesch, a shopper at the North First Avenue store. She especially likes how gluten-free foods are clustered in Sunflower. "It makes choosing healthy options easier."
Wanda Ginn likes to go to Sunflower for vitamins and herbs. "If it's on sale, I pick it up," she said.
Ginn buys organic vegetables only sometimes. "It's just the price," she said.
Although Sprouts is opening new stores in the Phoenix area and in California, no expansion is planned here soon. Sanders said the company foresees the Tucson area eventually being home to six or seven Sprouts stores.
It currently employs 425 people in Pima County. Sunflower workers were kept on after the changeover.
Sprouts has become a major player in the natural-foods industry. It is owned primarily by affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC and operated by the Boney family, which founded Henry's in San Diego in 1943.
The family sold Henry's to Wild Oats in 1997 and started Sprouts in 2002. Sprouts then bought Henry's last year after Apollo bought a majority stake and controlling interest.
Sunflower also has a Wild Oats link. It was co-founded in 2002 by some of the same people, Libby Cook and Randy Clapp.
"It feels like it's all coming full circle," Sanders said.
The addition of Sunflower's 35 stores gave Sprouts a presence in eight states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
The chain will have 150 stores by year's end, Sanders said. It has 24 in Arizona.
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Pima County will have five Sprouts Farmers Market locations.
There is an existing store at 7665 N. Oracle Road in Oro Valley.
Four Sunflower Farmers Market stores are soon to be converted:
• 4645 E. Speedway, near North Swan Road;
• 4282 N. First Ave., near East Limberlost Road;
• 7877 E. Broadway, near North Pantano Road;
• 3860 W. River Road, near West Orange Grove Road and North Thornydale Road.
Contact reporter Carli Brosseau at cbrosseau@azstarnet.com or 573-4197.