Whole Foods, UNFI Extend Distribution Partnership

United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) and Whole Foods Market, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon, have extended their current primary wholesale grocery distribution agreement, the term of which now runs until Sept. 27, 2027.

“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNFI and Whole Foods have worked closely together to consistently deliver better-for-you foods to consumers throughout North America,” noted Steven L. Spinner, chairman and CEO of Providence, Rhode Island-based UNFI. “This extension allows both companies to maintain focus on what is most important: continuing to meet the growing demand for healthy food at home as we navigate through the global pandemic. We look forward to continuing to play a very important role in the rapidly evolving foodscape and supply chain, while furthering our tradition of innovation, scale and efficiency.”

“UNFI plays a key role in ensuring Whole Foods Market is able to meet the growing demand for high-quality products across our network of stores and facilities,” said Bart Beilman, SVP of supply chain and retail operations at Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods. “We’re pleased to continue our strong and long-standing partnership with UNFI.”

The first national certified-organic grocer, Whole Foods has more than 500 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The grocer is No. 24 on The PG 100 list, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on PG’s list.

UNFI delivers a wide variety of products to customer locations throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, e-commerce retailers and foodservice customers. The largest publicly traded grocery distributor in America, the company is No. 61 on The PG 100.