United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Incorporated (UNFI)
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: UNFI
Industry NAIC 42211: wholesale grocery
Founder Michael Funk and Norman A. Cloutier
Headquarters Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Area served
 United States, Canada
Key people
 Michael S. Funk, chair of the board; Steven L. Spinner, CEO
Products wholesale natural, organic, ethnic and gourmet, grocery, produce, perishables, personal care, and supplements.
Revenue Increase US$ 8.185 billion (2015)
Increase US$ 241.96 million (2015)
Number of employees
 7,300
Divisions UNFI Natural and Specialty Distribution, Albert's Organics, Blue Marble Brands, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing, Natural Retail Group, Select Nutrition Distributors, UNFI Canada
Slogan Driven by Nature
Website www.unfi.com

United Natural Foods, Incorporated, also known as UNFI, is the leading national distributor of natural and organic foods, specialty foods, and related products in the United States and Canada. The company provides services for retailers and manufacturers, including marketing and promotions, merchandising, category management, and store support services. UNFI's product line includes dry, refrigerated and frozen groceries, personal care products, supplements, fresh produce, perishables, and non-food items such as household cleaning products.

UNFI's customers include food cooperatives, supermarkets, natural food stores, and niche retailers such as Whole Foods Market in the United States, Canada, and more than forty other countries.

UNFI has a focus on corporate social responsibility. Examples include construction and renovation projects that achieve LEED certification, use of alternative fuels, Green Teams,[1] and purchase of renewable energy from Eco Electrons.[2] The corporation supports the Just Label It! movement that calls for the labeling of genetically modified and engineered foods. When discussing its philosophy, mission, and priorities UNFI foundation states that it is "committed to promoting healthy, sustainable, and organic food production and consumption" and educating people about healthy food choices.

History

UNFI was founded in 1996 by the merger of two regional distributors, Mountain People's Warehouse (founded in 1976, serving the Western U.S.) and Cornucopia Natural Foods (founded in 1977, serving the Eastern U.S.), forming the first natural products distributorship with national scope. Since 1996, other regional distributors have merged with UNFI, filling in the distribution footprint and making UNFI the largest distributor of natural products. In 2007 UNFI added specialty products distribution through the acquisition of Millbrook Distribution Services. In 2011, UNFI signed a distribution agreement with Safeway Inc. for the distribution of non-proprietary natural, organic and specialty products, making Safeway their second largest customer after Whole Foods.[3] This agreement was terminated by Safeway in July, 2015,[4] leading to a drop in share price and two rounds of layoffs, their first in the history of the company. In 2012 UNFI partnered with Buyer's Best Friend to create a unified reordering system.[5]

Organization

UNFI's distribution operations are divided into seven principal units,

  1. UNFI Eastern Region
  2. UNFI Western Region
  3. Albert’s Organics
  4. Select Nutrition
  5. UNFI Canada (formerly SunOpta Distribution Group, includes Aux mille et une saisons)
  6. Honest Green
  7. Tony's Fine Foods

In addition to distribution operations, UNFI also operates the following divisions,

References

  1. ↑ "Green Initiatives". Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  2. ↑ "Commitment to renewable energy". Retrieved 2010-08-08.
  3. ↑ Vosburgh, Robert. "UNFI Signs Up Safeway". Supermarket News. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-21/united-natural-foods-plunges-after-albertsons-contract-canceled
  5. ↑ http://www.progressivegrocer.com/%25cat%25unfi-buyers-best-friend-create-reordering-system
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.