Form DEF 14A Sprouts Farmers Market, For: May 25

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No.    )

Filed by the Registrant    ☒                        Filed by a Party other than the Registrant    ☐

Check the appropriate box:

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

		April 8, 2022

Dear Sprouts Stockholders:   You are cordially invited to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., which will be held via webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SFM2022, on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 8:00 a.m., Pacific time.   Proxy Voting At the Annual Meeting, we will ask you to elect two members of our board of directors; vote on a non-binding advisory resolution to approve the compensation paid to our named executive officers for fiscal 2021 (commonly referred to as “say-on-pay”); approve a new equity compensation plan; and ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the 2022 fiscal year.   Proxy Materials and Availability

We have elected to provide access to proxy materials over the Internet under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “notice and access” rules to reduce the environmental impact and cost of our Annual Meeting. However, if you prefer to receive paper copies of our proxy materials, please follow the instructions included in the Notice of Internet Availability.

How to Vote

Whether or not you attend the Annual Meeting, it is important that your shares be represented and voted at the meeting. Therefore, we urge you to promptly vote and submit your proxy via the Internet, by telephone, or by mail, in accordance with the instructions included in the proxy statement.

On behalf of our board of directors, we would like to thank you for your continued interest and investment in Sprouts Farmers Market.

Sincerely,

Jack Sinclair Director and Chief Executive Officer

SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET, INC.

NOTICE OF 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

Items of Business:

By Order of the Board of Directors,

Brandon F. Lombardi

Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

This notice of Annual Meeting and proxy statement and form of proxy are being distributed and made available on or about April 8, 2022.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET, INC.

5455 East High Street, Suite 111

Phoenix, Arizona 85054

2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

GENERAL INFORMATION

This proxy statement is provided, and the enclosed form of proxy is solicited, on behalf of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., a Delaware corporation, by our board of directors for use at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (referred to as the “Annual Meeting”) and any postponements or adjournments thereof. The Annual Meeting will be held via webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/SFM2022 on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific time.

Internet Availability of Proxy Materials

In accordance with rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (referred to as the “SEC”) that allow companies to furnish their proxy materials over the Internet, we are mailing a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials instead of a paper copy of our proxy statement and our 2021 Annual Report to most of our stockholders. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials contains instructions on how to access those documents and vote over the Internet. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials also contains instructions on how to request a paper copy of our proxy materials, including this proxy statement, our 2021 Annual Report, and a form of proxy card. We believe this process will allow us to provide our stockholders the information they need in a more timely manner, while reducing the environmental impact and lowering our costs of printing and delivering the proxy materials.

These proxy solicitation materials are being first provided on or about April 8, 2022 to all stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

Record Date

Stockholders of record at the close of business on the record date of March 28, 2022 are entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting.

Number of Outstanding Shares

On the record date, there were 110,452,677 outstanding shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share.

Requirements for a Quorum

The holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the Annual Meeting. Each stockholder voting at the Annual Meeting, either in person or by proxy, may cast one vote per share of common stock held on all matters to be voted on at the Annual Meeting.

Votes Required for Each Proposal

Assuming that a quorum is present, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors. Therefore, the two nominees who receive the greatest number of votes cast shall be elected as directors. Our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights for the election of directors.

The advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers for fiscal 2021 (commonly referred to as a “say-on-pay” proposal), the proposal to approve our 2022 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan (referred to as the “2022 Incentive Plan”) and the proposal to ratify PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending January 1, 2023 shall each be decided by the affirmative vote of a majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote thereon.

Although the say-on-pay vote is non-binding, the result will provide information to our compensation committee and our board of directors regarding investor sentiment about our executive compensation philosophy, policies and practices, which our compensation committee and our board of directors will consider when determining executive compensation for the years to come.

The vote on each matter submitted to stockholders is tabulated separately. Broadridge Financial Solutions, or a representative thereof, will tabulate the votes.

Our Board’s Recommendation for Each Proposal

Our board of directors recommends that you vote your shares:

Voting Instructions

You may vote your shares by proxy by doing any one of the following: vote via the Internet at www.proxyvote.com; call 1-800-690-6903 to vote by telephone; sign, date and return your proxy or voting instruction card in the prepaid enclosed envelope to vote by mail; or attend the Annual Meeting to vote during the webcast. When a proxy is properly executed and returned, the shares it represents will be voted at the Annual Meeting as directed.

If a proxy card is properly executed and returned and no voting specification is indicated, the shares will be voted (1) “for” the election of each of the two nominees for director set forth in this proxy statement, (2) “for” the non-binding advisory resolution to approve the compensation paid to our named executive officers for fiscal 2021, (3) “for” the proposal to approve the 2022 Incentive Plan, (4) “for” the proposal to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2022 and (5) as the persons specified in the proxy deem advisable in their discretion on such other matters as may properly come before the Annual Meeting. As of the date of this proxy statement, we have received no notice of any such other matters.

If you attend the Annual Meeting, you may vote during the webcast using the 16-digit voting control number found on your proxy card, voting instruction form or notice of internet availability of proxy materials, even if you have previously voted via the Internet or by phone or returned a proxy or voting instruction card by mail, and your vote during the webcast will supersede any vote previously cast.

Broker Non-Votes and Abstentions

If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” and do not provide the broker, bank, or other nominee that holds your shares with specific voting instructions, under the rules of various national and regional securities exchanges, the organization that holds your shares may generally vote your shares on routine matters but cannot vote on non-routine matters. If the broker, bank or other nominee that holds

your shares does not receive instructions from you on how to vote your shares on a non-routine matter, the organization that holds your shares will inform the election inspector that it does not have the authority to vote on this matter with respect to your shares. This is commonly referred to as a “broker non-vote.”

The election of directors (referred to as “Proposal 1”), the say-on-pay proposal (referred to as “Proposal 2”) and the proposal to approve the 2022 Incentive Plan (referred to as “Proposal 3”) are matters considered non-routine under applicable rules. A broker, bank or other nominee cannot vote without your instructions on non-routine matters; as a result, there may be broker non-votes on Proposals 1, 2 and 3. For your vote to be counted on the above proposals, you will need to communicate your voting decisions to your broker, bank or other nominee before the date of the Annual Meeting using the voting instruction form provided by your broker, bank or other nominee.

The ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2022 (referred to as “Proposal 4”) is a matter considered routine under applicable rules. A broker, bank or other nominee may generally vote on routine matters, and therefore no broker non-votes are expected in connection with Proposal 4.

Broker non-votes and abstentions each are counted for determining the presence of a quorum. The election of directors requires a plurality of votes cast. Neither broker non-votes nor any withhold votes in the election of directors will have any effect thereon. Because they represent shares present and entitled to vote that are not cast in favor of a proposal, abstentions will have the same effect as votes “against” Proposal 2 and Proposal 3. Broker non-votes, however, do not represent shares present and entitled to vote on non-routine matters, and therefore, will have no effect on Proposal 2 or Proposal 3.

Revoking Proxies

Any stockholder giving a proxy may revoke the proxy at any time before its use by furnishing to us either a written notice of revocation or a duly executed proxy (via Internet, telephone or mail) bearing a later date, or by attending the Annual Meeting and voting during the webcast. Attendance at the Annual Meeting webcast will not cause your previously granted proxy to be revoked unless you specifically so request.

Election Inspector

Votes cast by proxy or in person at the Annual Meeting will be tabulated by the election inspector appointed for the meeting, who will determine whether a quorum is present. The election inspector will treat broker non-votes and abstentions as shares that are present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum, and as described in the “Broker Non-Votes and Abstentions” section of this proxy statement for purposes of determining the approval of any matter submitted to stockholders for a vote. The election inspector need not be a stockholder, and any of our directors or officers may be an inspector on any question other than a vote for or against his or her election to any position with our company or on any other matter in which he or she may be directly interested.

Voting Results

The final voting results from the Annual Meeting will be publicly disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the SEC within four business days of the Annual Meeting.

Costs of Solicitation of Proxies

We will bear the cost of this solicitation, estimated to be approximately $75,000. In addition, we may reimburse brokerage firms and other persons representing beneficial owners of shares for expenses incurred in forwarding solicitation materials to such beneficial owners. Proxies also may be solicited by certain of our directors and officers, personally or by telephone or e-mail, without additional compensation. We may, but do not currently intend to, engage a third-party proxy solicitor.

Householding

We are required to provide an Annual Report to all stockholders who receive this proxy statement. To reduce future costs to our company, if you are a stockholder of record and have more than one account in your name, or reside at the same address as other stockholders of record, you may authorize us to discontinue duplicate mailings of future Annual Reports and proxy statements, commonly referred to as “householding.” To do so, mark the designated box on each proxy card for which you wish to discontinue receiving an Annual Report and proxy statement. If you are voting via the Internet or by telephone, you can either follow the prompts when you vote or give instructions to discontinue duplicate mailings of future Annual Reports and proxy statements. Street name stockholders who wish to discontinue receiving duplicate mailings of future Annual Reports should review the information provided in the proxy materials mailed to them by their bank or broker. If, now or in the future, you wish to receive a separate copy of the Annual Report or proxy statement, please notify us by sending a written request to our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices, 5455 East High Street, Suite 111, Phoenix, Arizona 85054, and we will deliver a separate copy.

Attending the Annual Meeting

Due to the public health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to protect the health and well-being of our team members, directors and stockholders, we will hold the Annual Meeting in a virtual meeting format only via the internet site set forth above. Stockholders will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting physically.

To be admitted to the Annual Meeting webcast, stockholders must enter the 16-digit voting control number found on their proxy card, voting instruction form or notice of internet availability of proxy materials. Once properly admitted, stockholders may listen to the meeting, vote their shares and submit questions during the meeting through the meeting’s website. Questions that meet the board’s guidelines and rules of conduct for the Annual Meeting will be addressed by the board or management during the meeting. Technical support will be available to stockholders prior to and during the Annual Meeting by accessing the internet site set forth above.

We intend to return to in-person annual meetings in future years once the COVID-19 crisis passes.

Availability of our Filings with the SEC

Our 2021 Annual Report to Stockholders, which was made available to stockholders with or preceding this proxy statement, contains financial and other information about our company, but is not incorporated into this proxy statement and is not to be considered a part of these proxy materials or subject to Regulations 14A or 14C or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. The information contained in the “Compensation Committee Report” and the “Report of the Audit Committee” shall not be deemed “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulations 14A or 14C or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act.

Through our investor relations website, investors.sprouts.com, we make available free of charge all of our SEC filings, including our proxy statements, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and our Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as Form 3, Form 4 and Form 5 reports of our directors, officers, and principal stockholders, together with amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a), 15(d), or 16 of the Exchange Act. We will also provide upon written request, without charge to each stockholder of record as of the record date, a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2022 (referred to as the “Form 10-K”), as filed with the SEC. Any exhibits listed in the Form 10-K report also will be furnished upon request at the actual expense we incur in furnishing such exhibits. Any such requests should be directed to our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices set forth in this proxy statement.

Other Information

We report our results of operations on a 52- or 53-week fiscal year ending on the Sunday closest to December 31. Our last three completed fiscal years ended on December 29, 2019, January 3, 2021 and January 2, 2022. For ease of reference, we identify our fiscal years in this proxy by reference to the calendar year ending closest to the last day of such fiscal year. For example, we refer to our fiscal years ended December 29, 2019, January 3, 2021 and January 2, 2022 and our fiscal year ending January 1, 2023 as “fiscal 2019,” “fiscal 2020,” “fiscal 2021” and “fiscal 2022,” respectively.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Our Board

Our business and affairs are overseen by our board of directors, which currently consists of seven members.

Board Diversity

While we do not have a formal policy outlining the diversity standards to be considered when evaluating director candidates, our objective is to foster diversity of thought and experience on our board of directors. To accomplish that objective, the nominating and corporate governance committee considers ethnic and gender diversity, as well as differences in perspective, professional experience, education, skill and other qualities in the context of the needs of our board of directors. Nominees are not discriminated against on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or any other basis. The nominating and corporate governance committee evaluates its effectiveness in achieving diversity on the board of directors through its annual review of board member composition. Our current directors reflect these efforts and the importance of diversity to the board. During 2021 Ms. Blum and Ms. Graham served as director coaches for 50/50 Women on Boards^™, the leading global education and advocacy campaign driving the movement toward gender balance and diversity on corporate boards.

Board Structure

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide for a classified board of directors with staggered three-year terms, consisting of three classes as follows:

Our board of directors has determined that all of our current directors, except for Mr. Sinclair, are “independent,” as defined in the corporate governance rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market. There are no family relationships among any of our directors, director nominees or executive officers.

Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. Any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of our directors. Our directors may be removed for cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our voting stock.

The division of our board of directors into three classes with staggered three-year terms may delay or prevent a change of our management or a change in control of our company.

Board Leadership Structure

Our board of directors has no policy with respect to the separation of the offices of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. It is the board’s view that rather than having a rigid policy, the board, with the advice and assistance of the nominating and corporate governance committee, and upon consideration of all relevant factors and circumstances, will determine, as and when appropriate, whether to institute a formal policy. Currently, our leadership structure separates these roles, with Mr. Fortunato serving as our Chairman of the Board and Mr. Sinclair serving as our Chief Executive Officer.

Our board believes that separating these roles provides the appropriate balance between strategy development, flow of information between management and the board of directors and oversight of management. We believe this provides guidance for our board of directors, while also positioning our Chief Executive Officer as the leader of the company in the eyes of our customers, team members and other stakeholders. As Chairman, Mr. Fortunato, among other responsibilities, oversees planning of the annual board calendar and develops meeting agendas, presides over regularly scheduled board meetings and executive sessions of the independent members of the board, serves as a liaison between the directors, consults with major stockholders, as appropriate, and performs such additional duties as our board of directors may otherwise determine and delegate. By having Mr. Fortunato serve as Chairman of the Board, Mr. Sinclair is better able to focus his attention on running our company.

The Board’s Role in Risk Oversight

In 2021, our board of directors formed a risk committee that is primarily responsible for overseeing our risk management processes. We have an enterprise risk management program designed to identify, prioritize and assess a broad range of risks that may affect our ability to execute our corporate strategy and fulfill our business objectives, and formulate plans to mitigate their effects. The risk committee will review our enterprise risk management program and specific risks we face (including risks related to cybersecurity and critical systems and ESG matters among others), provide input on the appropriate level of risk for our company and review management’s strategies for adequately mitigating and managing the identified risks. The risk committee receives quarterly updates on information security risk matters and annual updates on ESG risk matters, or more frequently if circumstances dictate. Although the risk committee administers this general risk management oversight function, our audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees support our board in discharging its oversight duties and addressing risks inherent in their respective areas, and our board of directors as a whole receives regular updates on our enterprise risk management program and retains oversight responsibility over our key strategic risks. We believe this division of responsibilities is an effective approach for addressing the risks we face and that our board committee structure supports this approach.

Board Participation

Our board of directors held twelve formal meetings in fiscal 2021 and took action by written consent once. During fiscal 2021, each of our directors attended at least 75% of the total number of meetings of our

board of directors and of the committees on which they serve. We regularly schedule executive sessions at each formal meeting of the board during which the independent directors meet without the presence or participation of management.

We encourage our directors to attend each annual meeting of stockholders. To that end, and to the extent reasonably practical, we generally schedule a meeting of our board of directors on or around the same day as our annual meeting of stockholders. Each of our directors at the time attended our 2021 virtual annual meeting of stockholders.

Board Committees

Our board of directors has the authority to appoint committees to perform certain oversight and administration functions. Our board of directors has an audit committee, a compensation committee, a nominating and corporate governance committee and a risk committee. The composition and responsibilities of each committee are described below. Members will serve on these committees until their resignation or until otherwise determined by the board of directors.

Audit Committee

Our audit committee consists of Doug G. Rauch, Chairperson, Joel D. Anderson and Kristen E. Blum. Our board of directors has determined that each such individual is independent under the rules of the SEC and the NASDAQ Stock Market. Our board has also determined that Mr. Anderson is an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of SEC regulations, and that each member of our audit committee can read and understand fundamental financial statements in accordance with audit committee requirements. In arriving at this determination, the board has examined each audit committee member’s scope of experience in financial roles and the nature of their employment.

The audit committee has the following responsibilities, among other things, as set forth in the audit committee charter:

Our audit committee formally met four times during fiscal 2021.

Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee consists of Joel D. Anderson, Chairperson, Terri Funk Graham and Joseph O’Leary. Our board of directors has determined that each such individual is independent under NASDAQ Stock Market listing standards and a “non-employee director” as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.

The compensation committee has the following responsibilities, among other things, as set forth in the compensation committee’s charter:

Our compensation committee formally met three times during fiscal 2021 and took action by written consent twice.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our nominating and corporate governance committee consists of Terri Funk Graham, Chairperson, Kristen E. Blum and Joseph O’Leary. Our board of directors has determined that each such individual is independent under the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market.

The nominating and corporate governance committee has the following responsibilities, among other things, as set forth in the nominating and corporate governance committee’s charter:

Our nominating and corporate governance committee formally met three times during fiscal 2021.

Risk Committee

Our risk committee consists of Kristen E. Blum, Chairperson, and Terri Funk Graham. Our board of directors has determined that each such individual is independent under the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market.

The risk committee has the following responsibilities, among other things, as set forth in the risk committee’s charter:

Our risk committee formally met four times during fiscal 2021.

Board Evaluations

Our board believes that a robust annual evaluation process is a critical part of its governance practices. Accordingly, the nominating and corporate governance committee oversees an annual evaluation of the performance of the board of directors. The committee approves written evaluation questionnaires that are distributed to each director. The results of each written evaluation are provided to, and compiled by, an outside law firm. The chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee discusses the results of the performance evaluations with the full board. Our board utilizes the results of these evaluations in making decisions on director nominees, board agendas, board structure, composition and effectiveness and committee assignments. As a result of past board evaluations, we have made changes to board meeting agendas and the form and scope of materials provided to directors.

Identifying and Evaluating Director Candidates

Director candidates are evaluated in light of the then-existing composition of the board, and the background and areas of expertise of existing directors and potential nominees. The nominating and corporate governance committee also considers the specific needs of the various board committees. In the case of Mr. Rauch, the most recent addition to our board in 2020, the committee considered, among other

factors, his decades of experience in the grocery industry with a national growth retailer where he was instrumental in the development of its prized buying philosophy and creation of its unique private label food program, among other factors. Prior to that, in connection with Mr. Anderson joining our board in 2019, the committee considered his experience as a chief executive officer of a publicly traded high-growth retailer and strong background in ecommerce, among other factors.

Our nominating and corporate governance committee will consider persons recommended by stockholders for inclusion as nominees for election to our board of directors. Stockholders wishing to recommend director candidates for consideration by the committee may do so by writing to our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices set forth in this proxy statement, and giving the recommended nominee’s name, biographical data and qualifications, accompanied by the written consent of the recommended nominee.

The evaluation process for director nominees who are recommended by our stockholders is the same as for any other nominee and is based on numerous factors that our nominating and corporate governance committee considers appropriate, some of which may include strength of character, mature judgment, career specialization, relevant technical skills, diversity reflecting ethnic background, gender and professional experience, and the extent to which the nominee would fill a present need on our board of directors. We typically engage search firms to engage in national searches for prospective board candidates, and we instruct these search firms with which we work to identify potential board candidates that would, in addition to bringing particular skills and experience to the board, also add to the gender and/or ethnic diversity on the board.

Availability of Corporate Governance Information

Our board of directors has adopted charters for our audit, compensation, nominating and corporate governance and risk committees describing the authority and responsibilities delegated to each committee by our board of directors. Our board of directors has also adopted corporate governance guidelines, a code of conduct and ethics that applies to all of our team members, a code of ethics that applies to members of our board of directors and a code of ethics that applies to our principal executive officer and senior financial officers, including those officers responsible for financial reporting. We post on our website, at investors.sprouts.com, the charters of our audit, compensation, nominating and corporate governance and risk committees, our corporate governance guidelines and the codes of conduct and ethics referenced above. We intend to disclose any amendments to these codes, or any waivers of their requirements, on our website to the extent required by applicable SEC or NASDAQ Stock Market rules. The inclusion of our website address in this proxy statement does not include or incorporate by reference the information on or accessible through our website into this proxy statement. These documents are also available in print to any stockholder requesting a copy in writing from our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices set forth in this proxy statement.

Communications with our Board of Directors

Stockholders or other interested persons wishing to communicate with our board of directors or with an individual member of our board of directors may do so by writing to our board of directors or to the particular member of our board of directors and mailing the correspondence to our Corporate Secretary at 5455 East High Street, Suite 111, Phoenix, Arizona 85054. All such communications will be forwarded to the appropriate member or members of our board of directors, or if none is specified, to the Chairman of our board of directors.

Proxy Access

Our bylaws allow a stockholder to include director nominees in our proxy materials for election at our annual meeting of stockholders. Such nominations must comply with all applicable conditions in our bylaws and be directed to the attention of our Corporate Secretary at 5455 East High Street, Suite 111, Phoenix, Arizona 85054. See “Director Nominations for Inclusion in our 2023 Proxy Materials (Proxy Access)” below.

PROPOSAL 1: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Nominees

Our nominating and corporate governance committee recommended, and the board of directors nominated:

as nominees for election as Class III members of our board of directors. Each nominee is presently a Class III director of our company and has consented to serve a three-year term if elected, concluding at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders. Ms. Blum was re-elected a director by the stockholders at the 2019 annual meeting, and Mr. Sinclair was appointed to our board of directors upon his appointment as Chief Executive Officer in June 2019. Biographical information about each of our directors is contained in the “Our Board” section above. At the Annual Meeting, two directors will be elected to our board of directors.

Required Vote

The two nominees receiving the highest number of affirmative “FOR” votes shall be elected as directors. Unless marked to the contrary, proxies received will be voted “FOR” each of these two nominees.

Recommendation of the Board

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” ELECTION OF EACH OF THE ABOVE-NAMED NOMINEES.

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Our directors that are considered “independent” under applicable SEC and NASDAQ stock market rules receive consideration for service on our board of directors. In 2021, these directors received the following cash compensation (all payable quarterly):

In addition to the cash compensation discussed above, our independent directors also received equity compensation for 2021 equal to $140,000 in the form of restricted stock units (referred to as “RSUs”) vesting on the one-year anniversary of the grant date. The chairman of the board also received incremental equity compensation of $60,000 in the form of RSUs vesting on the one-year anniversary of the grant date. The number of RSUs granted to each independent director was determined using the 20-day trailing average closing price of our common stock as reported on the grant date. We also pay for or reimburse directors for approved board governance educational seminars and for travel expenses related to attending board and committee meetings.

Our board of directors recognizes that stock ownership by directors may strengthen their commitment to the long-term success of our company and further align their interests with those of our stockholders. In accordance with our corporate governance guidelines, our independent directors are expected over a five-year period to beneficially own shares of our common stock (including shares owned outright, unvested shares, and stock options or other equity grants) having a value of at least five times their annual cash retainer until he/she leaves the board.

Our compensation committee periodically engages its independent compensation consultant, Korn Ferry, to review our company’s independent director compensation against peer and market data.

Director Compensation Table

The following table sets forth a summary of the compensation earned by our directors in fiscal 2021.

The following table lists outstanding equity awards held by our current non-employee directors as of January 2, 2022.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers as of April 8, 2022:

Jack L. Sinclair’s biography is set forth under the heading “Our Board” above.

Nicholas Konat joined our company in March 2022 as our President and Chief Operating Officer to oversee the company’s operations, marketing, merchandising, and innovation functions. Mr. Konat previously served as the Chief Merchandising Officer at Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: WOOF), a leading brand in the U.S. pet care industry, from October 2018 to March 2022. Mr. Konat joined Petco in September 2015 as Vice President of Brand, Product Innovation and Design before being promoted to Vice President of Private Brands and Merchandising in June 2017 and Senior Vice President – General Manager in January 2018. Prior to joining Petco, Mr. Konat served as Director of Food Merchandise Planning at Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT), capping a more than nine-year career at Target where he held a range of merchandising, planning and leadership roles across the food and fashion categories. Mr. Konat also spent six years with Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN), a multinational professional services company. Mr. Konat holds an honors bachelor’s degree in political science and government from St. John’s University.

Lawrence (“Chip”) P. Molloy served as a member of our board of directors from 2013 until his appointment as our Chief Financial Officer in September 2021. Mr. Molloy also served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer from June 2019 to February 2020. Mr. Molloy most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Pathway Vet Alliance, a nationwide veterinary services network, from May 2021 to September 2021. Mr. Molloy also served as Interim Chief Executive Officer of Torrid LLC, a plus-sized fashion retailer, from January to August 2018, and served on Torrid’s board from August 2018 to May 2021. Previously, Mr. Molloy served as the Chief Financial Officer of Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) from January 2016 to February 2017. Mr. Molloy served as a director of Party City Holdco Inc. (NYSE: PRTY) from December 2013 to June 2016 and Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) from February 2015 to March 2016. Mr. Molloy served as Senior Advisor to Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm, from October 2014 to December 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Molloy served as Special Advisor to PetSmart, Inc., a formerly publicly traded (NASDAQ: PETM) specialty pet retailer, from June 2013 until April 2014, and had served as Chief Financial Officer of PetSmart from September 2007 until June 2013. Prior to PetSmart, Mr. Molloy was employed by Circuit City Stores, Inc. in various finance leadership roles. He served ten years in the U.S. Navy as a fighter pilot, retiring from the Navy Reserve with a rank of Commander. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy.

J. Scott Neal has served as our Chief Fresh Merchandising Officer since he joined our company in June 2020. Mr. Neal was previously Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager for the fresh food division of Walmart U.S., where he oversaw quality control and merchandising of produce, meat and seafood from 2013 to June 2020. Mr. Neal served Walmart over a 24-year career, including as Vice President – Meat and Seafood from 2011 to 2013, Vice President – Divisional Merchandising Manager of

Meat from 2009 to 2011, Vice President – Divisional Merchandising Manager of Commercial Bread and Bakery from 2007 to 2009, and Vice President of International Merchandising from 2000 to 2007. Mr. Neal served as a member of the board of directors of Feeding America from 2016 to 2020 and earned a B.A. in Economics from Brigham Young University.

Dan J. Sanders has served as our Chief Store Operations Officer since March 2022, having previously served as our Chief Operations Officer since October 2016 . Mr. Sanders joined our company as Executive Vice President of Store Operations in July 2015, and previously served as President of Albertsons Southern California and President of Acme Markets, both while affiliated with Supervalu Inc., from March 2010 through March 2013. Additionally, Mr. Sanders served as Chief Executive Officer of United Supermarkets, LLC from June 2004 until February 2010. Prior to serving at United Supermarkets, Mr. Sanders was Division President and a Principal at AdPlex, a retail consulting firm specializing in advertising production and content management technology to Fortune 500 companies, from August 1997 to February 2003. Mr. Sanders is also a military veteran with more than a decade of service as a pilot in the United States Air Force. He holds an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management and a B.A. from Lubbock Christian University.

David M. McGlinchey has served as our Chief Format Officer since February 2020 and oversees our new store format development, real estate site selection, construction and merchant services. Mr. McGlinchey previously served our company as Chief Merchandising Officer from August 2018 to February 2020 and Senior Vice President of Merchandising Services from July 2017 to August 2018. Before joining Sprouts, Mr. McGlinchey served as Vice President and Chief Grocery Merchant for Sears Holding Corporation from September 2013 through December 2016 and Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing for the Shaw’s and Star Market banners of Supervalu Inc. from March 2010 through April 2013. Earlier, he served in a number of leadership roles of increasing responsibility over a 14-year span at Stop & Shop/Giant Food, including Senior Vice President of Merchandising Support, Vice President of Grocery Merchandising, Director of Dry Grocery Merchandising and Category Manager. Mr. McGlinchey holds a B.S. in Economics and Finance from Bentley University and an M.B.A. from Bentley University’s McCallum Graduate School of Business.

Brandon F. Lombardi has served as our Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary since January 2012, and previously served as our Chief Human Resources and Legal Officer from October 2016 to January 2021. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Lombardi was a corporate and securities attorney at the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP from 2002 to January 2012, having worked in the firm’s Los Angeles and Phoenix offices. While in private practice, Mr. Lombardi served as outside general counsel and corporate secretary to public and private companies in a wide range of industries, specializing in corporate governance, securities and corporate law, and mergers and acquisitions. While acting as our outside counsel, Mr. Lombardi led our merger with Henry’s Farmers Market in April 2011. Mr. Lombardi holds a J.D. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and a B.S. in Global Business from Arizona State University.

Gilliam D. Phipps joined Sprouts as our Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer in April 2020. Mr. Phipps previously served Kroger since 2012, most recently as Vice President of Branding, Marketing & Our Brands from August 2018 to April 2020 and Vice President of Our Brands from August 2012 to August 2018. From 2001 to 2012, Mr. Phipps served as Director of Own Brand at H-E-B. Prior to that, Mr. Phipps led various levels of branding and product development at Hormel Foods. Mr. Phipps serves as a member of the board of directors of Artswave, an organization that helps fund over a hundred arts organizations in dozens of communities, and earned a B.A. in English and Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin. On February 18, 2022, Mr. Phipps transitioned from his role as our Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer to the role of Senior Marketing Advisor through May 31, 2022, at which time his continued employment will be evaluated by the Chief Executive Officer.

Each of our executive officers serves at the discretion of our board of directors and holds office until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier resignation or removal. There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes the material elements of the compensation of each person who served as our principal executive officer or principal financial officer during fiscal 2021 and our three other most highly compensated executive officers for fiscal 2021, which we collectively refer to as our “named executive officers” or “NEOs”. Our named executive officers for fiscal 2021 were:

Unless otherwise provided below, this Compensation Discussion and Analysis will generally apply to our named executive officers other than Mr. Molloy. References to our Chief Financial Officer’s compensation generally refer to the compensation package approved for Mr. Molloy upon his appointment on September 20, 2021.

Section One – Overview and Executive Summary

Executive Summary of Our Fiscal 2021 Executive Compensation Program

Our compensation committee has developed an executive compensation program that is designed to align pay with company performance, motivate and incentivize our executive leadership team and be competitive with market practices. Our fiscal 2021 executive compensation program was substantially similar to our fiscal 2020 program. For 2021, our pay mix consisted of base salary, the opportunity to earn annual performance-based cash bonuses based on our achievement of Plan EBIT¹ (as defined below) and comparable store sales performance goals and equity incentives consisting of time-vesting RSUs and stock options and performance-based restricted stock (referred to as “performance shares”) based on our achievement of a Plan EBIT target over a three-year performance period. We have no pension plans or other executive retirement plans except our 401(k) plan that is available to all team members, and limited executive perquisites consisting primarily of payment of health and life insurance premiums for certain of our named executive officers.

We believe that this mix of compensation, including the performance shares and annual performance-based cash bonus program tied to company financial and operational objectives, closely links executive officer compensation to company performance. We exceeded the threshold performance levels for our Plan EBIT goal but did not achieve the threshold performance level for the comparable store sales goal for our annual performance-based cash bonus in fiscal 2021, and we exceeded the maximum performance level for our performance shares granted in 2019 for our fiscal 2021 Plan EBIT goal. Accordingly, our executive officers were awarded with payouts above threshold, but below target levels, under our annual performance-based cash bonus for our company’s performance during fiscal 2021, consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy. Our performance shares granted in 2021 remain subject to a three-year Plan EBIT performance target before they may be earned.

¹ EBIT is a non-GAAP financial measure that is explained and reconciled to the comparable GAAP measure in Appendix A to this proxy statement. We define “Adjusted EBIT” as net income before interest expense and provision for income tax, excluding certain special items we do not consider representative of our ongoing financial performance. We define “Plan EBIT” as Adjusted EBIT, as may be further adjusted for any income or expense that is unusual, non-recurring or extraordinary, as the compensation committee of our board deems appropriate. See Appendix A to this proxy statement for further explanation and reconciliation of non-GAAP measures.

2021 Fiscal Year Performance

2021 was a year of meaningful accomplishments for our company, while at the same time we navigated a very challenging retail environment due largely to the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we cycled periods of fiscal 2020 where our results benefited from the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our results of operations for fiscal 2021 reflect declines in year over year net sales and comparable store sales growth as stockpiling behaviors declined and state economies reopened to pre-pandemic levels throughout the country during the year. In addition, due to continued difficulties in obtaining necessary equipment from third parties on account of supply chain delays complicated by the pandemic, seven of our planned new store-openings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 were delayed until fiscal 2022. Despite these operational challenges, we achieved the following accomplishments during fiscal 2021, including²:

Despite navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, during fiscal 2021 we continued to execute on our transformational growth strategy that we believe will set us up for long-term success. As described in the ‘Business Summary’ section above, this strategy focuses on the following areas:

Executing on these strategic initiatives has significantly improved our margin structure above our 2019 baseline and has laid the foundation from which we expect to continue to invest and grow. In fiscal 2021, our board of directors approved a $300 million share repurchase authorization over the next three years, demonstrating the board’s confidence in our future and growth strategy.

² Our results for fiscal 2020 were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, this presentation also includes certain comparisons to results in fiscal 2019.

³ Fiscal 2020 was a 53-week year that ended January 3, 2021. Period-over-period increases stated herein reflect the comparison of 53 weeks in fiscal 2020 to 52 weeks in fiscal 2021, unless otherwise noted.

⁴ Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP financial measures, exclude the impact of certain special items. See Appendix A to this proxy statement for further explanation and reconciliation to the comparable GAAP measures.

Compensation Program Background and Philosophy

Our executive compensation program is administered by the compensation committee of our board of directors that is comprised entirely of independent directors. The program is intended to attract, motivate and retain executives and reward the creation of stockholder value. We seek to provide executive compensation packages that are competitive with comparable companies (our peer group discussed below along with other market competitors) and reward the achievement of short-term and long-term performance goals.

Like most companies, we use a combination of fixed and variable compensation to reward and incentivize strong performance as well as to align the interests of our executives with those of our stockholders. When making compensation decisions, the compensation committee takes into consideration the value of target total direct compensation (referred to as “TDC”) provided to executives and where that value falls in relation to comparable companies. The compensation committee generally looks to position the value of target TDC around the market median, which we believe will enable us to remain competitive in attracting and retaining qualified executive officers. Our compensation committee’s decisions on target compensation are also influenced by a variety of additional factors, including compensation mix, the executive’s performance, skills, experience, time in the role, retention risk, difficulty to replace and scope of responsibility.

2020 Say-on-Pay Vote and Stockholder Engagement

At our 2021 annual meeting, our “say-on-pay” advisory vote on the 2020 compensation of our named executive officers described in our 2021 proxy statement received approximately 91% support from our stockholders. Our compensation committee took this strong approval into account as one of many factors it considered in connection with the discharge of its responsibilities during 2021 and attributed this level of support, in part, to many of the features of our company’s compensation program, including:

Our compensation committee determined not to make significant structural changes to our executive compensation program in 2021 based on its review of benchmarking analyses performed by Korn Ferry and the strong level of stockholder support demonstrated by our 2020 say-on-pay vote. We continued our ongoing stockholder outreach efforts by contacting our largest 25 stockholders in late 2021 and early 2022 to determine if any wished to raise concerns related to our compensation or environmental, social and governance practices. Seven stockholders collectively holding over 23% of our outstanding shares accepted our invitations, and we provided their feedback to our compensation committee, which continued to refine our executive compensation program for 2022, as a demonstration of its attention to corporate governance, stockholder feedback and its emphasis on the link between pay and performance.

Section Two – Elements of our Compensation Program

The elements of our 2021 executive compensation program are presented below in summary format and more fully explained in the sections that follow:

Base Salary

Base salary is a fixed portion of compensation that reflects the compensation committee’s (and the Chief Executive Officer’s in the case of other named executive officers) assessment of the individual named executive officer’s performance, skills, experience, time in the role and scope of responsibility. Base salaries are generally set at levels near the median of comparable companies and are reviewed on an annual basis to determine if any adjustments are required.

Performance-based Cash Bonus

We utilize performance-based cash incentives to motivate executives to attain short-term objectives that align with long-term business goals. Meeting or exceeding our annual business and financial goals is important to executing our business strategy and delivering long-term value to stockholders. Individual award opportunities vary by job level and are generally set so that, along with other components of compensation, the executives’ target TDC is competitive with comparable companies.

Our performance-based cash bonus plan was based upon (1) Adjusted EBIT, as further adjusted for any income or expense that is unusual, non-recurring or extraordinary, as the compensation committee of our board deems appropriate (referred to as “Plan EBIT”), and (2) comparable store sales growth. No incentive award was payable to executives unless a pre-established minimum of 92.7% of the target Plan EBIT goal or 97.3% of the target comparable store sales goal was exceeded. Incentive award payouts increased for performance up to a maximum of 114.6% of the target Plan EBIT goal and 105.5% of the target comparable store sales goal.

The performance-based cash bonus plan focuses executives on critical financial and operational goals. Our compensation committee believes that Plan EBIT is a primary indicator to our stockholders of our core business health, and its use achieves our desire to use a measure of profitability that drives stockholder value creating behaviors. The second measure, comparable store sales growth, focuses executive officers on both strengthening our core business and making our stores more productive.

Each executive officer has a target performance-based cash bonus opportunity, expressed as a percentage of base salary (referred to as the “Target Bonus”), with the ability to earn above or below that target based on our company’s actual performance.

In March 2021, the compensation committee and board of directors approved the financial and operational goals for the company. The compensation committee also reviewed and approved the Target Bonus opportunity for each executive officer. If Plan EBIT and comparable store sales growth were 100% of the established targets, our executive officers would be each entitled to receive 100% of such officer’s respective Target Bonus. In addition, each executive officer had the opportunity to earn an out-performance bonus of up to 300% of such officer’s Target Bonus (referred to as “Total Bonus Opportunity”), subject to payout limitations set forth in our 2013 Incentive Plan. Payouts are interpolated ratably between the threshold and target amounts and the target and maximum amounts. The Target Bonus and Total Bonus Opportunity for our executive officers for 2021 were as follows:

Because such a large percentage of executive officer compensation is performance-based, our compensation committee invests significant time determining the annual financial target for our performance-based cash bonus program. In general, management makes the initial recommendation for the financial targets based upon our company’s annual board-approved budget, and these recommendations are reviewed and discussed by the compensation committee. The major factors used in setting one or more targets for a particular year are the results for the most recently completed year and the budget for the current year. Other factors taken into account may include general economic and competitive market conditions and industry dynamics. Our compensation committee sets the final corporate performance goals during our first quarter, typically at levels our compensation committee believes are challenging for management to achieve. For 2021, our compensation committee further considered that our company would be cycling 2020 where our results benefited from the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Award payouts are determined in the first quarter of each year following completion of the plan year by measuring the performance against each award component. In determining whether the performance ranges are met, the compensation committee exercises its judgment whether to reflect or exclude the impact of changes in accounting principles and extraordinary, unusual or infrequently occurring events. For 2021, no further adjustments were made to Adjusted EBIT to arrive at our Plan EBIT. The 2021 incentive award target goals and 2021 results and corresponding bonus percentages relative to the target amounts are shown below.

Based on these results, our named executive officers earned a 2021 cash incentive award of 32.8% of the Target Bonus amount based on operating results that achieved 43.7% of the Plan EBIT goal (weighted 75%) and below the threshold for the comparable store sales target (weighted 25%).

Equity Incentive Compensation

Each year we grant equity-based awards to executive officers and key team members to motivate and reward them for creating long-term stockholder value. Long-term incentive awards are generally established so that, when added to total cash compensation, the target TDC for an individual executive is generally competitive around the market median of comparable companies, although some of our named executive officers are positioned below the 50^th percentile and others are slightly above. In 2021, our compensation committee determined to grant to our executive officers performance shares, time vesting RSUs and stock options. The value of such equity awards increases or decreases as a result of changes in the market price of our common stock, creating opportunities in the event of successful market performance of our shares and aligning the interests of our named executive officers with our stockholders.

Performance conditions for the performance shares granted in 2021 will be evaluated based on our 2023 Plan EBIT; goals for 2023 Plan EBIT are not disclosed as this would create competitive harm. The goals for performance shares granted in 2019 based on 2021 results and corresponding payout percentages relative to the target amounts are shown below.

Benefits and Perquisites

We provide our named executive officers with benefits that the compensation committee of our board of directors believes are reasonable and in the best interests of our company and our stockholders. Consistent with our compensation philosophy, we maintain competitive benefit packages for our named executive officers. The compensation committee, in its discretion, may revise, amend or add to an officer’s benefits if it deems it advisable. We believe these benefits are generally equivalent to benefits provided by comparable companies.

Section Three – How Executive Pay is Established

Role of Our Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee, which is comprised entirely of independent directors, is responsible for overseeing our executive compensation policies and programs with the goal of maintaining compensation that is competitive and reflects the long-term interests of our stockholders. You can learn more about the compensation committee’s purpose, responsibilities, and structure by reading the committee’s charter posted on our investor relations website at investors.sprouts.com. The inclusion of our website address in this proxy statement does not include or incorporate by reference the information on or accessible through our website into this proxy statement.

While our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers may attend meetings of the compensation committee or our board of directors from time to time, the ultimate decisions regarding executive officer compensation are made solely by the members of our compensation committee. These decisions are based not only on our compensation committee’s deliberations, but also on input requested from our company or outside advisors, including our compensation committee’s independent compensation consultant, with respect to, among other things, market data analyses. The final decisions relating to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation are determined solely by our compensation committee. Decisions regarding other executive officers are made by our compensation committee after considering recommendations from our Chief Executive Officer.

Role of the Compensation Consultant

Our compensation committee may periodically engage the services of independent compensation consultants to provide advice in connection with making executive compensation determinations. The chairperson of our compensation committee, in consultation with other committee members, defines the scope of any consultant’s engagement and related responsibilities. These responsibilities may include, among other things, advising on issues of executive compensation and equity compensation structure and

assisting in the preparation of compensation disclosure for inclusion in our SEC filings. In fulfilling its responsibilities, the independent compensation consultant may interact with management or our other outside advisors to the extent necessary or appropriate.

In 2021, our compensation committee engaged Korn Ferry as its independent compensation consultant to provide the committee with an executive compensation assessment, peer group analysis, incentive plan design review and related compensation advice. The compensation committee’s independent compensation consultant provides analyses that inform the committee’s decisions, but it does not decide or approve any compensation decisions. Korn Ferry representatives met with the chairperson of the committee, with certain members of our management team, and with our compensation committee, as requested.

The compensation committee considered the factors set forth in the NASDAQ Stock Market rule regarding compensation advisor independence. Specifically, the compensation committee analyzed whether the work of Korn Ferry as compensation consultant raised any conflict of interest, taking into consideration the following factors: (i) the provision of other services to our company by Korn Ferry; (ii) the amount of fees from our company paid to Korn Ferry as a percentage of Korn Ferry’s total revenue; (iii) the policies and procedures of Korn Ferry that are designed to prevent conflicts of interest; (iv) any business or personal relationship of Korn Ferry or the individual compensation advisors employed by Korn Ferry with an executive officer of our company; (v) any business or personal relationship of the individual compensation advisors with any member of the compensation committee; and (vi) any stock of our company owned by Korn Ferry or the individual compensation advisors employed by Korn Ferry. The compensation committee considered the above factors related to compensation advisor independence and based on the foregoing, the committee concluded that Korn Ferry was independent.

Our compensation committee intends to continue its practice of retaining executive compensation consultants from time to time, as our compensation committee deems appropriate, to advise our compensation committee with respect to its compensation policies and provide compensation data from comparable companies.

Management’s Role in Compensation Decisions

Members of our human resources, finance and legal departments work with our Chief Executive Officer to recommend changes to existing compensation plans and programs, to recommend financial and other targets to be achieved under those programs, to prepare analyses of financial data and other briefing materials to assist the compensation committee in making its decisions and, ultimately, to implement the decisions of our compensation committee.

Our Chief Executive Officer is actively engaged in setting compensation for other executives through a variety of means, including recommending for committee approval the financial goals and the annual variable pay amounts for our executive team. Our Chief Executive Officer works closely with our Senior Vice President of Human Resources and the chairperson of the compensation committee in analyzing relevant market data to determine base salary and annual target bonus opportunities for senior management and to develop targets for our short- and long-term incentive plans. Our Chief Executive Officer is subject to the same financial performance goals as our other executive officers, all of which are ultimately determined and approved by our compensation committee with reference to the board-approved budget and any other information the committee deems necessary.

Compensation Levels and Benchmarking

We benchmark our executive compensation against a peer group of companies with which we may compete for executive talent. Market pay data for the peer group for 2021 was gathered through publicly available information and compensation surveys conducted by Korn Ferry. When making compensation decisions, the compensation committee takes into consideration the value of TDC provided to executives and where that value falls in relation to comparable companies (our peer group discussed below, along with

other market survey data). While the compensation committee does not target a specific percentile of comparable companies when making decisions regarding individual compensation components, the committee generally looks to position the value of target TDC so as to be competitive with the market median of comparable companies, with exceptions made based on the committee’s analysis of key factors, as discussed below.

The peer group is periodically evaluated and updated to ensure the companies in the group remain relevant to us based on our changing size and other factors. For 2021, our compensation committee reviewed the compensation of our executive officers and compared it with that of both our peer group companies and broader, composite market survey data provided by our compensation consultant. In assessing the appropriateness of peer companies, the compensation committee considered the following criteria for our peer group in 2021: annual revenues; food retail, health and wellness, as well as broader retail; talent market that represents the market for executive talent for our company; growth-oriented companies; and the peer groups used by proxy advisory firms.

The peer group of 12 companies which, along with broader market survey data, was used for benchmarking purposes in fiscal 2021 is set forth below.

Based on input from Korn Ferry, the peer group was reviewed in the fourth quarter of 2020, and the compensation committee determined no changes were warranted at that time to assist the committee with determining 2021 compensation. The compensation committee again reviewed the peer group in the fourth quarter of 2021, and based on the evaluation criteria, the committee approved the removal of The Michaels Companies, Inc. (which became a private company in April 2021) and the addition of Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. to our peer group for 2022.

Our compensation committee may vary from its general approach for various elements of compensation depending on the committee’s analysis of key factors, such as performance, contributions to the business, ability to replace with a high-quality candidate in our unique industry/model or disruption to our business if an executive were to exit.

Section Four – 2021 Named Executive Officer Pay Actions

2021 Compensation Actions

In 2021, the compensation committee approved the following compensation and awards for our named executive officers after considering each officer’s individual achievements and contributions toward our long-term strategic goals, our peer group and market survey data and the accomplishments of the company, and in the case of Mr. Molloy, in consideration of the experience and stability he would bring to the Chief Financial Officer role.

To demonstrate our focus on pay-for-performance, each element of compensation for 2021 target amounts as approved by the compensation committee is set forth as a percentage of target TDC in the following chart.

Section Five – Executive Compensation Governance

Stock Ownership Guidelines

To further align the long-term interests of our executives and our stockholders, our board maintains stock ownership guidelines applicable to our Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers. Within five years of appointment to their position, our Chief Executive Officer must obtain and maintain beneficial ownership of shares of Sprouts stock equal in market value to five times his current annual base salary, and our other executive officers must maintain beneficial ownership of shares of Sprouts stock equal in market value to two times his or her respective current annual base salary. As of fiscal 2021 year-end, each of our named executive officers met these guidelines.

ESG Considerations in Executive Compensation

ESG is embedded into our company strategy, and our executives’ performance in executing our strategy is considered when our board makes compensation decisions. One of our strategic initiatives is creating an advantaged fresh supply chain by opening distribution centers closer to our stores, which reduces food waste, lowers our transportation-related carbon footprint, increases access to local farmers, and provides fresher produce for our customers. Another key initiative is attracting and retaining talent by creating a safe, rewarding, diverse, and inclusive place to work for our team members. Our executive leadership responsible for these initiatives are evaluted and compensated based, in part, on the success of these initiatives. In addition to this qualitative assessment of performance against these important ESG criteria, the compensation committee of our board of directors will continue to explore mechanisms for incorporating appropriate ESG metrics into our executive compensation program.

Change-in-Control and Severance Arrangements

In February 2020, our compensation committee amended our executive severance and change-in-control plan, which provides that our Chief Executive Officer is eligible for two to three years of

severance benefits upon certain events, including an involuntary termination of employment or termination of employment in connection with a change in control, and our other executive officers are eligible for one to two years of severance benefits upon certain events, including an involuntary termination of employment or a termination of employment in connection with a change in control. For further information regarding compensation payable to our named executive officers in the event of termination of such officer’s employment, see – “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control”.

Hedging and Pledging Policy

Our insider trading policy expressly prohibits transactions involving hedging or pledging of Sprouts shares by directors, officers or team members without the approval of our Chief Legal Officer, who would review risks of proposed transactions.

Tax Deductibility of Executive Compensation

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) generally does not permit publicly traded companies to take income tax deductions for compensation paid to our Chief Executive Officer and certain other executive officers to the extent that compensation exceeds $1 million per officer in any taxable year. Certain compensation, including performance-based compensation deductible for 2017 and prior years and certain grandfathered performance-based compensation arrangements, meeting specified requirements, is exempt from this limit. As a new public company, under special transition relief, certain compensation paid (and certain equity awards granted) prior to the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, has also been exempt from this limit. The executive officers to whom Section 162(m) generally applies for 2021 include our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and the next three most highly compensated executive officers, and any such “covered employee” for a year after 2016. Although our compensation committee considers tax consequences as a factor when it makes compensation decisions, it retains the discretion and flexibility to make compensation decisions resulting in the grant of non-deductible compensation to the extent it deems that it is appropriate.

Clawback of Certain Compensation Following Restatement of Financial Statements

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that if the board of directors learns of any misconduct by an officer that contributed to our company having to restate all or a portion of our financial statements, it shall take such action as it deems necessary to remedy the misconduct, prevent its recurrence and, if appropriate, take remedial action against such officer in a manner it deems appropriate. In determining what remedies to pursue, the board of directors will take into account all relevant factors, including whether the restatement was the result of negligence or intentional or gross misconduct. The board of directors will, in all appropriate cases, require reimbursement of any bonus or incentive compensation (including recovery of gains from previously issued equity awards) awarded to an officer or effect the cancellation of unvested restricted, deferred stock awards previously granted to the officer if: (i) the amount of the bonus, incentive compensation or stock award was calculated based upon the achievement of certain financial results that were subsequently the subject of a restatement, (ii) the executive engaged in intentional misconduct that caused or partially caused the need for the restatement and (iii) the amount of the bonus, incentive compensation or stock award that would have been awarded to the officer had the financial results been properly reported would have been lower than the amount actually awarded. In addition, the board of directors, in its full and complete discretion, may dismiss the officer, authorize legal action for breach of fiduciary duty or take such other action to enforce the officer’s obligations to our company as the board of directors determines fit the facts surrounding the particular case.

Risk Considerations

Our board of directors does not believe that our 2021 compensation policies and practices create risks that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our company for the following reasons:

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

Our compensation committee has reviewed and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis included in this proxy statement. Based on such review and discussion, the compensation committee recommended to our board of directors, and our board of directors approved, that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement and incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2022 for filing with the SEC.

Joel D. Anderson, Chairperson

Terri Funk Graham

Joseph D. O’Leary

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

Our compensation committee is comprised of Joel D. Anderson, as Chairperson, Terri Funk Graham and Joseph D. O’Leary. No member of the committee had any contractual or other relationships with us during fiscal 2021 except as directors, nor has any member of the committee ever been an officer or team member of our company.

None of our executive officers currently serve, or in the past year have served, as a member of the board or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board or compensation committee.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table provides information regarding the compensation of our named executive officers for fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to grants of plan-based awards to the named executive officers for fiscal 2021.