Ownership Submission
FORM 4
Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
Nielsen James Leroy
  2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. [SFM]
5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
President & COO
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
5455 EAST HIGH STREET, SUITE 111
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
03/04/2016
(Street)

PHOENIX, AZ 85054
4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4 and 5)
5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 3 and 4)
6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share 03/07/2016   S(1)   1,057 D $ 27.9318 (2) 14,476 (3) D  

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)
6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)
8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)
9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)
10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Option (right to buy) $ 28.21 03/04/2016   A   45,838     (4) 03/04/2023 Common stock, par value $0.001 per share 45,838 $ 0 45,838 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
 Director  10% Owner  Officer  Other
Nielsen James Leroy
5455 EAST HIGH STREET
SUITE 111
PHOENIX, AZ 85054
      President & COO  

Signatures

 /s/ Brandon F. Lombardi, Attorney-in-Fact for James L. Nielsen   03/08/2016
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) This transaction was a broker-assisted sale of shares of common stock to satisfy the withholding tax liability incurred upon the vesting of restricted stock units, as mandated by the Issuer's election under its equity incentive plan documents, and does not represent a discretionary trade by the reporting person.
(2) The reported price in Column 4 is a weighted average price. These shares were sold in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $27.93 to $28.32 per share, inclusive. The reporting person undertakes to provide to the issuer, any security holder of the issuer, or the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, upon request, full information regarding the number of shares sold at each separate price within the range set forth in this footnote.
(3) Amount includes 3,620 shares of common stock, 2,219 restricted stock units and 8,637 performance share awards. Each restricted stock unit and performance share award represent the right to receive, upon vesting, one share of common stock. The restricted stock units will vest over three years, with one-third vested on March 4, 2015; one-third vested on March 4, 2016; and the remaining one-third vesting on March 4, 2017, assuming continued employment through such date. The performance share awards will vest over two years, with one-half vesting on March 11, 2017 and the remaining one-half vesting on March 11, 2018, assuming continued employment through such dates.
(4) These options become exercisable in three equal annual installments on March 4, 2017, March 4, 2018 and March 4, 2019.

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