For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. United Natural Foods (UNFI) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of UNFI and the rest of the Consumer Staples group's stocks.United Natural Foods is one of 176 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #8 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. UNFI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNFI's full-year earnings has moved 99.12% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.According to our latest data, UNFI has moved about 94.75% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of -2.30%. As we can see, United Natural Foods is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Looking more specifically, UNFI belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 44 individual stocks and currently sits at #100 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.11% so far this year, so UNFI is performing better in this area.Investors with an interest in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to track UNFI. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research