Whole Foods Market continued its long-term commitment to emerging brands and products in late March with the release of its 14th annual Supplier All-Star Awards, which highlight its standout supplier partners of 2025.
The distinction goes to 16 suppliers, most of which are food and beverage makers, for excelling in key areas such as product excellence, creativity, operational reliability and collaboration, the Amazon-owned grocery retailer said.
“With unwavering commitments around quality, innovation, differentiation, value and transparency, these 16 suppliers have helped us continue to raise the bar for our customers and contributed to our purpose of nourishing people and the planet,” said Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, vice president, Worldwide Grocery Stores Private Brands and Marketing and chief merchandising and marketing officer.
The recipients have been on Whole Foods Market shelves for three to 36 years and span product categories, including branded and private label.
Here are a few standouts leading the pack in health and wellness CPG:
Just Ice Tea
Seth Goldman, CEO of Just Ice Tea and cofounder of Honest Tea, has served as a leader in ethical sourcing for more than a quarter century.
Goldman explained in a Naturally Chicago webinar last fall that his tea company works with farmers in Mozambique, and the Fair Trade wages he pays for organic tea build loyalty and supply-chain resiliency.
“These days, growth is hard to come by,” he said. “So, when you have the fastest-growing brand in a category – a category that, by the way, had been stalled out, stagnant to declining – and you have a brand that’s now recreating growth in a category, that’s an easy case to make to investors.”
In mid-February, the company announced it had raised $9 million in Series B financing “further accelerating its national retail growth and product innovation, including new flavors Watermelon Lime White Tea and Peach White Tea.”
Investors include Robert Trone, co-founder of Total Wine & More; Taste Tomorrow Ventures; and senior leadership from Big Geyser of NYC, Polar Strategic Ventures and several other key distributors.
Abe’s Muffins
Vegan-friendly Abe’s Muffins, which caters to those with allergies, has been in Whole Foods for roughly 10 years.
Based in West Nyack, New York, the company is named after co-owner Joby Koffman’s son, who has an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts, tree nuts and sesame. Abe also suffers from allergies to eggs, dairy, soy and seeds, according to the company.
“Growing up with food allergies was rough. Abe, like millions of other kids, was isolated from friends and classmates during celebrations, snack and lunch time. So, in a fit of inspiration, we set out to create an allergy-friendly treat not only Abe would love, but one that our family and friends would devour too,” Abe’s said.
Abe’s markets its vegan, allergen-free treats as “School-Friendly” options “for the millions of parents” whose children suffer from food allergens.
Organic Valley
The cooperative of roughly 1,500 smaller farmers that makes up Organic Valley has been in operation for nearly four decades and has spent most of its time growing alongside Whole Foods Market.
“Our cooperative started out selling veggies and dairy products under the name CROPP (Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool),” the co-op explains on its website. “Back then there were no USDA organic standards and no way to know what ‘organic’ really meant from farm to farm. So we set our own standards for our farms – and these included no GMOs, no artificial hormones, no antibiotics and animals would be provided plenty of time outside – standards that eventually helped shape the USDA Certified Organic Standards.”
The partnership between the independent farmers’ network and Whole Foods Market continues most recently through a collaboration with UNFI and Stonyfield Organic.
On March 3, the entities announced the launch of Verified Impact Units (VIUs) to enable businesses in the supply chain to “invest in farm-level solutions to reduce emissions,” such as solar power, feed innovations and manure management.
“This initiative represents an innovative new model for producing food that sees stakeholders from across the food system coming together to drive meaningful, measurable change,” said Caitlin Leibert, global head of sustainability at Amazon Worldwide Grocery. “It’s about rethinking how we care for the land and supporting the people behind our food – reflecting the collective effort of farmers, producers, retailers and distributors who are helping us build a more resilient food system.”
