Whole Foods Market announced the winners of its eighth annual Supplier Awards, honoring 32 of the company’s suppliers for their outstanding achievements in 2019 and ongoing commitments to quality, environmental stewardship, organic integrity, innovation, purpose and partnership. This year’s honorees include local, regional and national brands across all product categories. The winners were named at a reception held in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 18.
Whole Foods Market awarded three national suppliers, those available in four or more Whole Foods Market regions, and 11 local and regional partners with “Supplier of the Year” recognition and honored others for their contributions in categories aligned with Whole Foods Market’s mission and core values. The honorees were selected by Whole Foods Market global and regional leadership, category experts and buyers who work closely with our suppliers every day.
This year’s award recipients include:
National Suppliers of the Year
National Supplier of the Year & Special Recognition
Agritalia: for its dedication to operational excellence, extraordinary service and premium quality. As the leader in exporting Italian food products and a Whole Foods Market Exclusive Brands supplier since 1997, Agritalia continues to provide best-in-class service and quality through our expansive portfolio of Italian goods under our trusted 365 and Whole Foods Market branded products.
National Supplier of the Year & Organic Commitment
duBreton: for its longstanding, steadfast commitment to animal welfare, organic farming and continuously improving the standards of natural and organic pork production. For more than 15 years, duBreton has been exploring and improving various models of raising pigs in accordance with a variety of criteria across multiple animal welfare programs including Global Animal Partnership and Certified Humane. In 2019, duBreton was recognized by the Canada Organic Trade Association as the 2019 Organic Champion for its efforts in becoming the leader of organic pork production in North America. In 2018, DuBreton completed the transformation of all its partner pork farms to comply with both USDA and Canadian Organic Standards, which was the culmination of 3 years of work to convert 90 facilities to align with these standards. Look for duBreton sausage, ribs, bacon and other pork products in many Whole Foods Market stores.
National Culinary Supplier of the Year
Diestel Family Ranch: for uncompromising dedication to quality, transparency, the environment and high culinary standards. An incredible partner since the mid-1980s with the opening of our Palo Alto store, Diestel has grown to serve our stores nationwide with a variety of natural and organic turkeys, deli meats, grinds, sausages and more. In addition, the team continuously innovates to meet Whole Foods Market’s evolving culinary needs. Diestel’s culinary and operational excellence, combined with the team’s outstanding professionalism and service, resulted in the flawless, nationwide launch of our Whole Smoked Turkey and Turkey Breast lines for Thanksgiving 2019.
