Natural grocers are increasingly popular across the country, but Californians have a special penchant for quality organic ingredients. Two California favorites, Henry’s Farmers Market and Sprouts Farmers Market will be merging and operating under the name Sprouts Farmers Market.

Both Sprouts and Henry’s were originally started by the same San Diego family. Although the Boney-family companies were separate since their founding, the upcoming merger will put them under the control of Apollo Management. This private equity firm has acquired a majority ownership of the two companies. Henry’s and Sprouts current management agreed to Apollo Management’s control as part of the merger in February.

Some Henry’s Farmers Markets have already started to make the transition. One store in Elk Grove, California, started using the new name and a new sign earlier this week. It is expected that other stores will soon make the switch, as well.

Other sources have reported that the two companies wanted to cause as few changes as possible for their customers. The products will stay fairly similar and the layouts are not expected to change. Customers can expect, however, to see prices drop. The two grocers expect to lower prices because of a doubled buying power.

The new Sprouts will be increasing in size. The merger means there will soon be over 100 stores in California, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado. The natural grocers will also have over 7,000 employees. It is expected that the merger will increase the revenue to $1 billion annually, making it a major player in the farmers market portion of the foodstuff industry.

Sprouts Farmers Market can also proudly call itself one of the biggest grocery chains on the west coast.

Source: The Sacramento Bee, “Henry’s Farmers Market will become Sprouts,” Anne Gonzales, July 31, 2011