A Company Built for Your Growth
Moving Food Forward Since 1976
UNFI started as a small natural food distributor for local grocers. Today, we’re one of the largest publicly traded wholesale distributors of healthier food options across North America.
Becoming the UNFI of Today and Tomorrow
We were formed because our founding pioneers had a passion for bringing natural and organic food to more people in more places. Since then, we’ve made bold moves to build the broadest set of product offerings and expert services that drive growth for thousands of diverse suppliers and retailers.
Our History
1976-1977
Our Roots in Natural Distribution
In 1976, Michael Funk founded Mountain People’s Warehouse in Auburn, CA after selling organic produce out of the back of his Volkswagen. The Warehouse would become the largest natural food distributor in the West. Three years prior, Norman Cloutier opened Cornucopia Natural Foods in Rhode Island. It grew from a small retail store into a wholesale distributor.
They looked to grow with strategic partners who fit their mission and vision, and eventually found each other. Cornucopia merged with the Warehouse in 1996 to create United Natural Foods, the first natural products distributor with national scope that made better food more accessible at scale.
1997-2018
Growth Through Strong Partnerships
Our company grew because packers and manufacturers in the newly formed company knew that strong partnerships were the way to provide better service and products.
We benefitted from partners like Albert’s Organics, the first Certified organic distributor with nationwide coverage, who joined in 1998. Source Organic joined in 2001 to match organic producers with retailers and wholesalers.
There’s also Blooming Prairie, formed by three part-timers and volunteers who hitchhiked to Minneapolis and rented a truck to pick up orders from People’s Warehouse. They joined UNFI in 2002.
In 2018, UNFI underwent the largest expansion of the business with our acquisition of SUPERVALU. This transformed our company into a wall-to-wall food products and services company. Since then, we have strengthened our value-added services, bringing retailers and suppliers innovative solutions to profitably grow their businesses and ours. As we’ve grown over time, we’ve remained focused on getting better every day.
2019-2024
Building a Better Food System
Our planet and all the people within it are part of one interconnected system. We must take bold action to improve every aspect of that system.
To do our part, we launched “Better for All.” It’s our strategy to strengthen our value chain, filled with partners who deliver needed products to households across North America. “Better for All” is anchored on how we help build a better food system by focusing on crucial areas from associate well-being to waste reduction.
A major component is the metrics we are holding ourselves accountable for through our annual reporting. Through continuous improvement, we aim to meet the needs of our partners, our associates, the communities we serve, and our planet.
Today
Getting Better Every Day
To thrive in a dynamic, fast-evolving industry, you need more than just a wholesale distributor – you need a partner who offers relevant and diverse products and value-added services that help you grow and compete.
UNFI is becoming more efficient and effective to make it easier to do business with us. We are delivering more products and services, more choices, and more innovative solutions to create shared value across our industry.
Together, we will continue to build a better future for our associates, customers, suppliers and the communities we serve. That’s the story of UNFI, then and now.
