Leaven Instant Sourdough and Wild Yeast Make Retail Debut in More than 200 Doors in Time for Q4 Baking Season

The First Real Sourdough Starter Replacement Brings Authentic Sourdough Fermentation, Flavor and Benefits to Hy-Vee, Bristol Farms, Market of Choice, and Other Midwest, Pacific Northwest and Western Region Stores.

SAN DIEGO — AUGUST 24, 2026 — Home bakers can finally have real sourdough without maintaining a sourdough starter. Leaven Foods, creator of the first and only real sourdough starter replacement in a shelf-stable powdered format, today announced the debut of Leaven Instant Sourdough and Leaven Instant Wild Yeast in a variety of retailers in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and Western Regions of the USA. Stores include Hy-Vee, Bristol Farms, Market of Choice, and other independent retailers.

A 2026 NEXTY Award winner for Best Pantry Staple at Natural Products Expo West, Leaven Instant Sourdough delivers the fermentation, flavor and benefits of real sourdough without the feeding and ongoing maintenance required by a traditional live starter. Leaven eliminates the need for a starter. Bakers simply add Leaven Instant Sourdough to their dough, allow it to ferment and bake.

Made with carefully curated wild yeast and beneficial bacteria isolated from sourdough, Leaven Instant Sourdough is all-natural, gluten-free, non-GMO and gut-friendly. Each convenient 0.25-ounce sachet can bake up to seven sourdough loaves and has an MSRP of $8.99.

“These stores were selected as our launch partners as sourdough is a lifestyle in these areas,” said Amy Goldsmith, chief marketing officer of Leaven Foods. “In addition, these stores have a reputation for bringing innovative products to their shoppers, and we’re excited to introduce consumers to a completely new way to experience real sourdough. Whether you’re an experienced baker or simply sourdough-curious, Leaven takes the hassle out of sourdough baking and will bring new ease to holiday baking. It’s sourdough made simple.”

Traditional sourdough baking starts with a living culture or “starter” that must be fed, maintained and kept active between bakes. For many home bakers, that ongoing commitment is time-consuming and expensive, and is the biggest barrier to baking sourdough regularly.

“I created Leaven after my sourdough starter died,” said Cameron Martino, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Leaven Foods. “I wanted a way to make real sourdough more accessible, predictable and easier to bake without sacrificing what makes sourdough special. After the pandemic, I spent three years in the lab developing a product that could truly replace a traditional live starter. Leaven is the result, and we’re thrilled to help more people get back into the kitchen without the hassle of maintaining a starter.”

Leaven's proprietary process grows and preserves wild sourdough microorganisms and transforms them into a convenient, shelf-stable powder designed to deliver real sourdough fermentation without the traditional starter-maintenance routine. The result is a more convenient and predictable way to bake sourdough whether making bread, pizza, bagels, focaccia, pretzels or other sourdough recipes.

Shoppers will also find Leaven Instant Wild Yeast, a premium baking yeast developed for bakers looking to add greater flavor and character to their breads without adding complexity to the baking process. Unlike conventional commercial baker’s yeast, Leaven Instant Wild Yeast is an undomesticated wild yeast selected for its distinctive baking characteristics and rich, buttery flavor.

“Wild yeast brings another dimension to baking,” said Martino. “We developed Instant Wild Yeast for bakers who want more flavor and character from their bread while keeping the process simple and approachable.”

Leaven Instant Wild Yeast is all-natural, gluten-free and non-GMO. It is available in convenient 0.25-ounce sachets with an MSRP of $8.99.

ABOUT LEAVEN FOODS

Headquartered in San Diego, Leaven Foods is transforming the way people bake sourdough. The company created the first and only real sourdough starter replacement in a shelf-stable powdered format, eliminating the need to maintain a traditional starter while making sourdough baking simpler and more accessible for home and commercial bakers. Leaven Instant Sourdough and Leaven Instant Wild Yeast are all-natural, non-GMO, gluten-free and gut-friendly. LeavenFoods.com features recipes for bakers of all skill levels, including sourdough bread, pizza crust, bagels, cookies, focaccia, pretzels and gluten-free sourdough. Leaven is used as an ingredient at assorted pizzerias, bakeries and manufacturers around the USA and also is available on Amazon.com.

Instagram: @leavenfoods; TikTok: @leaven-foods