To become a Whole Foods Market supplier, you register for the Supplier Portal, confirm your email, and then tell Whole Foods about your business and products in its Potential Supplier Form. The portal itself has moved: the old address, supplier.wholefoodsmarket.com, now forwards to grocerycentral.amazon.com, and you sign in with an Amazon login tied to your company email address.
Set your expectations from Whole Foods' own words. Its page for potential suppliers says that because of "the overwhelming volume of new product inquiries," it "cannot guarantee you will receive a response," and that complete, accurate submissions help.
Why the portal wants an Amazon account
Whole Foods' onboarding guide answers this directly. It chose to use "an established Amazon system for user registration." The workflow runs on Amazon's system but is unique to Whole Foods, and signing up "will not sign you up for anything else Amazon related." It is not Vendor Central and not a Seller Central account.
Everyone has to register again on the new portal, including suppliers already selling to Whole Foods. If your company email is already tied to an Amazon account, follow "Scenario 2" in Whole Foods' guide; if not, "Scenario 1" walks you through creating one.
How to register, step by step
- Go to grocerycentral.amazon.com and choose Create an Account. Skip the "Whole Foods Team Members" login, which is for employees.
- Use a business email that is yours alone. Whole Foods asks each user to register separately and not share a generic inbox such as info@yourcompany.com. There is no limit on users.
- Use a mobile number you control. The portal sends two-factor codes by text. If Amazon says the number belongs to another account, the FAQ's fix is to delete it from that personal account's Login & Security settings, then re-enter it.
- Choose your company type. Producer means you make, grow, catch or process products Whole Foods sells or might sell. Broker means you represent a producer for non-distribution work. Expense means you supply goods or services Whole Foods uses to run its business rather than resell.
- Enter your business address. Not a home address, and no P.O. box unless your company really works inside it.
- Choose one product category, the one where you do the most business by volume, not dollars.
- Complete the Potential Supplier Form, which the portal labels Submit New Items. Whole Foods says that form is only for potential, meaning new, suppliers; approved suppliers use category-specific forms instead.
New accounts start as restricted users until Whole Foods verifies that you represent an approved supplier. The onboarding FAQ still carries a launch-period note telling users to fall back to the legacy portal while it is not promoting accounts to approved status. If you get stuck, the portal's Contact Us link opens Whole Foods' supplier portal support form.
Brokers register once, under the brokerage's own name, and can then submit items and promotions for every brand they represent.
Meet the standards before you apply
Whole Foods says products "must meet our rigorous Quality Standards," and that not all of its standards and policies are posted publicly. What is posted is specific: more than 575 ingredients banned across food, beverages, body care, household cleaning, supplements and catering, and more than 300 colors, preservatives, sweeteners and other ingredients prohibited from all the food it sells. Check your label against the food ingredient standards on wholefoodsmarket.com before you fill in a single field.
LEAP: the accelerator for brands not yet on the shelf
The Local and Emerging Accelerator Program (LEAP), launched in 2022, is Whole Foods' route for small brands. It runs six months, with mentorship from Whole Foods staff, tailored education and "the potential for direct financial support." At the end, each participant's products are considered for shelves in its home city or region.
Who can apply to LEAP: Early Growth, per Whole Foods:
- Grocery and Whole Body consumer packaged goods brands not yet selling at Whole Foods;
- not alcoholic beverage brands, fresh produce producers or food service providers;
- founders who can join weekly virtual sessions for 12 weeks;
- businesses that already meet Whole Foods' requirements, which it lists as including liability insurance, production in a certified commercial facility and transparent sourcing.
Timing matters. The 2025 cohort's applications opened January 16 and closed March 19, with finalist interviews in late May and the cohort named in August. As of November 6, 2026, Whole Foods' page still describes that 2025 cycle and says to "check back in the fall" for the next one, so check the page and email LEAP@wholefoods.com if no new dates are posted. Applications cannot be saved partway, so preview the questions and prepare offline.
The Local Producer Loan Program
Whole Foods says its Local Producer Loan Program, founded in 2006, has made more than 400 loans, roughly $42 million, to small-scale, local and emerging producers in the U.S. and Canada. The examples it publishes are equipment purchases: an oven, a packaging line, a sealing machine.
There is no open application. Whole Foods tells interested producers to ask their Forager or Category Merchant to introduce them to the Lending Program Manager, which in practice means you need a working relationship with a Whole Foods buyer first. Until then, our working capital guide covers other ways to fund equipment and a first grocery order.
After approval: the tools you will use
| Tool | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Supplier Onboarding Application (SOA) | Onboarding as a new supplier, inside the portal |
| Vendor Item Portal (VIP) | Item cost, promotions, UPCs and item data |
| Supplier Reporting Portal | Your Whole Foods sales, through Amazon QuickSight (help: WFMVendor.Reporting@wholefoods.com) |
| Demo and sampling registration | In-store demos in U.S. and Canada stores |
Canadian and UK suppliers are the exception to most of this: Whole Foods tells them to keep using the forms and process their category merchant gave them.
What Whole Foods does not publish
None of the pages we read names a supplier diversity program, a list of accepted certifications or a spend figure, so this guide claims none. A diverse-owned brand should still put its certification in its company profile and pitch, because many retail and distribution buyers ask for it.
Many emerging brands reach Whole Foods shelves through a distributor as well. Our UNFI supplier guide covers that route, our Amazon supplier guide covers Whole Foods' parent company, and the food and beverage supplier guide covers the wider grocery market.
Your next step: create your account at grocerycentral.amazon.com with your work email and a mobile number you control, check your strongest product against the ingredient standards, and complete the Potential Supplier Form for that one product.
Sources
Checked November 6, 2026: Whole Foods Market, Information for Potential Suppliers (wholefoodsmarket.com/company-info/information-potential-suppliers); Local Producer Loan Program (wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values/local-producer-loan-program); Quality Standards (wholefoodsmarket.com/quality-standards); the Whole Foods Market Supplier Portal at grocerycentral.amazon.com, its Public Guide for Supplier Onboarding and its support form.
