Food Distributors List: US Food & Beverage Distributors

A food distributors list for a brand is organized by channel, because grocery, natural, foodservice, convenience and beverage accounts are served by different companies. The national names are C&S Wholesale Grocers in conventional grocery, UNFI and KeHE in natural and specialty, Sysco and US Foods in foodservice, McLane and Core-Mark in convenience, and Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling and Southern Glazer's in beverage. Most brands start regional and work up.

How to use this list

The companies below sit in two tiers. National distributors run warehouses across the country and list a new item only after a category review, usually because a retailer asked for it. Regional distributors cover a few states, buy from smaller brands more readily, and are where a new line gets its first real velocity data. A third kind, the redistributor, buys pallets from manufacturers and resells mixed cases to other distributors, so it never touches a store or restaurant directly.

The practical order for a young brand is regional first: open a handful of regional accounts, prove the product turns on shelf, then go to the national houses with a story a buyer can check. A broker usually comes before the national pitch, because the category buyers at UNFI, KeHE and the broadline foodservice companies work through brokers they already know; the food broker guide covers what that costs and when it is worth it.

This list covers food and beverage only. For hardware, beauty, pet, toys and every other category, use the US distributor list for every category.

Grocery distributors (conventional supermarkets)

Conventional grocery wholesalers supply supermarkets and independent grocers with the full center-store range. Several are cooperatives owned by the retailers they serve, so member stores influence what gets listed.

• C&S Wholesale Grocers supplies independent supermarkets and chains across the country and acts as the primary wholesaler for many regional banners.
• SpartanNash distributes to independent grocers and military commissaries and operates its own retail stores in the Midwest.
• Associated Wholesale Grocers is a retailer-owned cooperative supplying independent supermarkets across the central and southern states.
• Bozzuto's serves independent grocers and regional chains in the Northeast from Connecticut.
• Associated Food Stores is a retailer-owned cooperative supplying independent grocers in the Intermountain West from Utah.

Natural, organic and specialty grocery distributors

This is the channel most emerging food brands enter first. The two national houses supply natural chains and the natural sets of conventional supermarkets; the regional specialty distributors carry imported, gourmet and confectionery lines to independents.

• UNFI (United Natural Foods) is the national distributor for natural, organic and specialty grocery and the primary supplier to Whole Foods Market.
• KeHE Distributors carries natural, organic, specialty and fresh products for grocery, natural and mass retailers nationwide.
• Chex Finer Foods distributes specialty and natural foods to independent grocers and specialty shops in the Northeast.
• Lipari Foods distributes deli, bakery, specialty and confectionery lines to retailers across the Midwest.
• Nassau Candy distributes specialty confectionery, snacks and gourmet foods to retailers nationwide from New York.
• European Imports is a Sysco specialty company supplying imported cheese, charcuterie and gourmet grocery lines.
• Gourmet Foods International distributes specialty cheese, charcuterie and gourmet groceries to retailers and foodservice from the Southeast.

Getting into UNFI or KeHE is usually the consequence of a retailer authorization rather than the cause of one: land the store, and the distributor follows.

Foodservice distributors (restaurants, hospitality, institutions)

Foodservice distributors sell to kitchens, not shelves, and want bulk packs, consistent supply and a product that saves a cook time. Broadline houses carry everything a kitchen needs; specialty houses serve chefs who buy for quality.

• Sysco is a broadline foodservice distributor delivering to restaurants, healthcare, education and hospitality nationwide.
• US Foods is a broadline distributor serving independent restaurants, chains and institutions across the country.
• Performance Food Group distributes to restaurants, schools and healthcare through broadline and customized divisions.
• Gordon Food Service is a family-owned broadline distributor serving the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast, with its own cash-and-carry stores.
• Shamrock Foods is a family-owned broadline distributor serving the Southwest and Mountain West.
• Ben E. Keith distributes foodservice products and beer across Texas and the surrounding states.
• The Chefs' Warehouse distributes specialty and center-of-the-plate products to independent restaurants and chefs in major metros.
• Dot Foods is a redistributor: it buys from manufacturers and resells less-than-truckload quantities to other distributors rather than to operators.

Dot Foods matters for a small brand because it lets any distributor in the country order your product in small quantities without you shipping to each one. Before pitching, read how to sell to restaurants for the pack sizes and per-portion pricing operators expect.

Convenience store and vending distributors

Convenience distributors deliver candy, snacks, beverages, tobacco and a growing foodservice range to gas stations and corner stores on a regular route. Vending and office-coffee suppliers buy the same single-serve products for machines and break rooms.

• McLane Company supplies convenience stores, drugstores and mass merchants with grocery and foodservice products nationwide.
• Core-Mark distributes to convenience stores across the United States and Canada as part of Performance Food Group.
• Eby-Brown supplies convenience stores in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast and is also part of Performance Food Group.
• H.T. Hackney distributes to convenience stores and independent grocers across the Southeast and Midwest from Tennessee.
• Imperial Trading supplies convenience stores across the Gulf South from Louisiana.
• GSC Enterprises distributes to convenience stores in Texas and the surrounding states.
• Harold Levinson Associates supplies convenience stores in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic from Long Island.
• Vistar distributes snacks, candy and beverages to vending, office coffee, theaters and other away-from-home channels.

Beverage distributors

In beverage the type of drink decides the route. Non-alcoholic brands ride bottler networks and independent beverage houses that run their own trucks to stores. Wine and spirits must pass through a licensed wholesaler in states with three-tier rules, so the brand cannot sell to a retailer directly.

• Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling produces and distributes Coca-Cola products in the West and Midwest, and its parent company also runs beer distribution.
• Big Geyser is the independent non-alcoholic beverage distributor for the New York metro area and a well-known launch route for new drinks brands.
• Hensley Beverage Company distributes beer, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages across Arizona.
• L. Knife & Son distributes beer, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic brands across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic through a family of houses.
• Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits distributes wine and spirits across most states and in Canada.
• Breakthru Beverage Group distributes wine, spirits and beer across a group of states and in Canada.
• Republic National Distributing Company distributes wine and spirits across the South, Southwest and other markets.
• Johnson Brothers distributes wine, spirits and beer in the Upper Midwest and several other states.

The first names serve non-alcoholic and beer routes; the last are wine and spirits houses. A new drinks brand usually starts with one independent house in one metro and expands city by city.

What these distributors need from a food brand

Every company above runs a new-item process, and the requirements repeat across channels. Shelf life comes first: a distributor wants enough remaining life at receipt to warehouse the product and still deliver it with time to sell. Case pack and pallet configuration must fit its slots, so ask for the spec before you print cases. Every unit and case needs a scannable barcode, and the item must carry a compliant nutrition label and ingredient statement.

Product liability insurance naming the distributor is required before the first order ships. Expect to fund promotions: free fill on the opening order, a marketing development fund, and periodic discounts the distributor passes to retailers. Grocery distributors may also pass along the retailer's placement charges, which slotting fees explained covers. Most national houses will also ask who your broker is, because they prefer a rep who already knows their forms and deadlines.

How to get on their radar

Distributors find brands through their customers and the trade calendar. The strongest signal is a retailer or restaurant group asking for your product by name, which is why regional accounts come first. The second is the show floor. Expo West is where UNFI and KeHE buyers walk the natural aisles, the Fancy Food Show is where specialty houses scout gourmet lines, the Sweets & Snacks Expo is where convenience and candy buyers look, and the NACS Show is where the convenience distributors themselves meet their store customers.

Between shows, watch for category reviews: national distributors and their retail customers review each category on a schedule, and a submission outside the window waits for the next one. Most large distributors also run a new-vendor portal; use it, but treat it as a filing, not a pitch, and follow up through a buyer or broker.

What to do while you are too small for them

If your volume cannot yet support a national distributor's minimums and promotional demands, there are three working alternatives. Self-distribution means delivering to local stores yourself, which keeps margin and produces the velocity data everyone else will ask for. Regional distributors, including smaller local houses, will take a brand with a few accounts and real turns. Direct sales to independent grocers, specialty shops, cafes and restaurants build a customer base a distributor later inherits.

Frequently asked questions

Which food distributors should a new brand contact first?

Start with the regional distributors in your home market and your channel, not the national ones. A regional grocery wholesaler, a specialty house or a local beverage distributor will onboard a brand with a few live accounts, and the sales data from that relationship is what a national buyer asks for later. Work the independent retailers in that region at the same time so the distributor sees pull.

What is the difference between a distributor and a redistributor?

A distributor buys from brands and sells to stores, restaurants or institutions, delivering on its own trucks. A redistributor such as Dot Foods buys full pallets from brands and resells mixed, smaller quantities to other distributors. Redistribution lets a small brand reach many distributors without shipping to each warehouse, but the redistributor does not create demand; your buyers still need to ask their distributor to order you.

Do beverage brands use the same distributors as food brands?

Only partly. Non-alcoholic drinks travel through bottler networks, independent beverage houses and the convenience distributors above, while grocery wholesalers and broadline foodservice companies carry drinks alongside food. Wine, beer and spirits are different: in states with three-tier rules a licensed wholesaler must sit between the producer and the retailer, so those brands work with houses such as Southern Glazer's, Breakthru, RNDC or Johnson Brothers.

Turning the list into conversations

A list tells you which companies could carry your product; the work is finding the right buyer at each one and reaching them with the proof they want. WholesalePilot finds the US distributors, wholesalers and retail buyers for a product and emails them in the brand's name, so the regional accounts and the national pitch happen in the right order without a spreadsheet.