By Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune

Southwest Florida, already flush with new arrivals, is poised to welcome even more new grocery brands as companies in the West continue to expand into the Southeast.

Retail analysts buzzed about Sprouts Farmers Market last month at the International Council of Shopping Centers RECON convention in Las Vegas.

The boutique-like grocery chain concept out of Arizona competes with Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s, and is now one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country; it has more than 170 stores in nine states.

Sprouts now has its eye on the Southeast, with four stores set to open in Georgia this summer. Analysts believe Sprouts will start opening stores in Florida within the year.

“Sprouts is hot and heavy this year, and definitely marching in the direction of Florida,” said Jeff Green, retail analyst with Phoenix-based Jeff Green Partners. “They fill a cool niche and have amazing produce turnover.”

The Sarasota-Bradenton market is no newcomer when it comes to drawing new and emerging brands: The Fresh Market opened its first store in Southwest Florida in a Kohl’s-anchored plaza on University Parkway in 2009.

A second store opened in Bradenton in 2012, and the company is considering opening a third in southern Sarasota County.

In 2012, Trader Joe’s opened its second store in Florida on Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, and Costco Wholesale arrived at the Sarasota Square mall.

Gordon Food Service, a grocery chain that caters mostly to the restaurant supply business, is building its second Southwest Florida store in the former Sound Advice building, near Stickney Point Road.

The company is rumored to be opening a third in Port Charlotte later this year.

Then there’s Wawa, a Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain known for its sandwiches and grocery options. It has filed building permits to open its first Sarasota County store by next year on top of three sites in Manatee County and another targeting Venice.

Despite all those big chains coming into the market — and the ones already here, locally owned smaller retailers like Richard’s Foodporium and Morton’s Gourmet Market — analysts are confident there’s room enough for Sprouts to thrive here, too.

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