Children’s food brand Tiny Sprouts expanded its retail footprint with the help of Whole Foods Market’s Local and Emerging Accelerator Program (LEAP) while the company leans into functional benefits for the youngest consumers.
Launched in 2021, Tiny Sprouts was the brainchild of Tina Rajani and Kim Pabla and has a mission of improving children’s health through chia and hemp seeds, milled flaxseeds and other superfoods.
The brand offers “super seed boosters” with functional ingredients like probiotics and omega-3 fatty acid DHA “that can be easily added or hidden into any favorite food for an instant nutrient boost,” said Pabla.
Whole Food's 2025 LEAP Program closes on March 19
Whole Foods Market is encouraging brands to submit applications for its 2025 LEAP program by March 19. Whole Foods will select 10 brands to join a 12-week educational program, and the brands will be considered for a $25,000 equity investment from a fund managed by the Austin Community Foundation. Learn more about this year's LEAP program here.
Tiny Sprouts’ Organic Digestion Booster + Probiotics and Organic Brain Booster + DHA launched in Whole Foods Market’s supplement section – despite featuring a Nutrition Facts label – in Northern California, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic last month.
Tiny Sprouts was part of the 2023 LEAP program, where the brand learned how to grow its brand with the help of Whole Foods mentorship and guidance, noted Rajani.
“They helped us refine everything from our packaging to our distribution strategy so that we are set up for success in their stores. But really the most valuable part, I would say, has been meeting so many like-minded brands and people through the process. So, even though we were part of the 2023 cohort, to this day our relationship with our local forager and the category team has been invaluable,” Rajani elaborated.
Functional trends move into children’s food
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The whitespace for more “functional foods in the children’s market is huge” as parents seek healthy foods to improve children’s health and grow weary of supplements, Rajani said.
Tiny Sprouts is offering “the full benefits” of functional ingredients and its “digestion booster contains a full serving of probiotics,” Pabla said.
“Parents are demanding nutrition, focus, science backed and convenient food options for their kids more than ever before,” she elaborated. “We do not want to rely solely on pills. They have their role when needed, of course, but most healthy children do not really need pills, so parents are looking for those functional foods that deliver on those supplement-like benefits in kid-friendly formats.”
