Sprouts Farmers Market Opens In Bel Air: See What's In Store

BEL AIR, MD — The newest grocery store in Bel Air — Sprouts Farmers Market — is now open. A line wrapped around the building as shoppers sought to be the first to experience the store, which specializes in natural and organic foods in an open layout.

"As soon as you walk in the store, it's a different shopping experience," Sprouts spokesman Diego Romero said. "You can see from wall to wall across the store."

The 30,000-square-foot space features an array of produce, fresh meats, baked goods, bulk foods, supplements, beauty products, grab-and-go items and more.

"Healthy living should be easy," Romero said. "There are no aisle numbers, and that's because we know our shoppers are going to have questions, so rather than pointing a customer to a certain aisle, we'll take them there and walk them through it, because they're going to see a lot more choices than they've ever seen."

Here are some highlights of the Bel Air Sprouts:

• Large fresh produce section
• Beef, chicken and pork are fresh, never frozen, and company grinds sausage daily
• In-house butcher for those seeking a special cut of meat or seasoning
• Seating area with complimentary wi-fi
• Bulk foods from seeds to tea to candies
• Make-your-own peanut butter and almond butter

"With today's shopper, everyone has a little bit of foodie in them, so they're trying out new things," Diego said. "We encourage sampling across the store. You can ask a team member to open something up and sample it."

Products come with a money-back guarantee. If people try something that's not for them, they can bring it back with the receipt.

One thing that sets Sprouts apart is the variety.

"Not everyone wants organic everything, so we offer lots of choices," Romero said. "It's not a one-size-fits-all approach." That said, 90 percent of the products Sprouts carries are natural or organic.

There are also more than 2,400 Sprouts brand products.

"Having so much experience with natural foods, we can see where there might be holes in a certain category, and we can bring to market something unique and special that our customers have never seen before," Romero said.

In addition to value and health, Sprouts aims to provide convenience, with build-your-own sandwiches at the deli starting at $3.99 as well as a salad bar.

So far, Romero said people in Bel Air have been raving about the organic produce and the deli, "particularly sushi," as well as having a place to sit down and plug in.

"The Bel Air market's a great fit for Sprouts because it's a wide demographic, and everyone's looking to eat healthier," Romero told Patch. "At this particular shopping center, we're proud to be the anchor of something fresh and new."

Sprouts was founded in 2002 in Arizona and has more than 300 stores nationwide. In Bel Air, the store is in the space that used to house hhgregg in the Tollgate Marketplace. It is the third Sprouts in Maryland. The others are in Towson and Ellicott City.

On any given day, one-third of the store is on promotion, officials say. There's also a mobile app where shoppers can clip digital coupons and "do things like checkout challenges for savings," Romero said.

Sprouts cut the ribbon on its new store at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, July 10, at 680 Marketplace Drive in Bel Air.

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