Sprouts Farmers Market plots new Maryland grocery store in 2024

Sprouts Farmers Market is opening a new store in Westminster, Maryland, in late 2024, the grocer announced Monday.

This will be Sprouts’ sixth location in Maryland. The store will employ about 100 full- and part-time workers.

“The City of Westminster and Common Council are honored and thrilled to welcome Sprouts Farmers Market to our community,” Dr. Mona Becker, the city’s mayor, said in a statement. “Sprouts offers fresh, natural and healthy food options for our residents and allows our residents to continue to shop locally.”

Phoenix-based Sprouts, which has been steadily adding new stores, currently operates about 386 markets in 23 states.

The grocer’s newest store is scheduled to open on April 28 in Lancaster, California.

Last month, Sprouts revealed it would close 11 locations that have struggled for years. Despite that, the company remains focused on growth, recently opening new stores in The Villages, Florida, and Merced, California, with another planned for Manassas, Virginia, on May 12.

Sprouts has said it plans on opening 30 stores this year after debuting 16 new locations in 2022.

“We are pleased with the performance of our more-recent store openings, especially the smaller prototypes,” Sprouts CFO Lawrence “Chip” Molloy told analysts last month. “We’re also encouraged by the momentum of those newer markets as we begin to densify and establish more brand awareness.”

Sprouts’ business model focuses on a robust produce department and centers on products catered to specific diets, such as keto and vegan.

The publicly traded grocer was founded about 20 years ago.

“We are thrilled to bring a wide selection of quality products that cater to a healthy lifestyle to the Westminster community,” Chief Strategy Officer Dave McGlinchey said in a statement. “Sprouts offers fresh seasonal produce, custom-cut meats, vitamins and supplements, ready-to-eat meals, dietary options such as gluten-free or paleo and thousands of other natural, organic, non-GMO, vegan and plant-based products.”