Introduction
United Natural Foods’ business model is to support natural, organic, and specialty products retailers by providing the distribution platform that gives them the broadest possible selection of wholesome products, delivered with the highest level of customer service. The company’s customer base includes traditional natural food as well as conventional supermarket chains.
United Natural Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI) is the largest distributor of natural, organic and specialty products in the U.S., with annual sales of $4 billion. UNFI’s customers include traditional natural food retailers, regional supermarket chains and mass merchandisers such as Whole Foods Market® and Costco Wholesale Corporation, along with many smaller independent retailers.
UNFI also sells directly to consumers through its e-commerce site, UNFIdirect.com
Vision
UNFI is the nation’s leading provider of health and wellness products to traditional and independent retail outlets such as Whole Foods Markets, Wild Oats Markets, Trader Joes, Sprouts Farmers Market among many others. With more than 10% market share in a growing industry UNFI shows no sign of slowing down.
UNFI’s vision is to be recognized as the trusted partner for improved health through superior nutrition by providing superior service that empowers customers to achieve their business objectives through innovative solutions to meet their needs today and tomorrow.
Pros and Cons
There are many benefits to the United Natural Foods model. The company is able to offer a wide variety of products at reasonable prices due to its scale. It also offers customers an extensive selection of organic products, which is popular among health-conscious consumers.
However, the United Natural Foods business model may not be right for your company if you’re looking for something more specialized or unique in your product offerings. If this is something that would appeal to your target market, then it might be better if you went with a different type of retailer like Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe’s instead.
UNFI is the nation’s leading provider of health and wellness products to traditional and independent retail outlets such as Whole Foods Markets, Wild Oats Markets, Trader Joes and Sprouts Farmers Market among many others. With more than 10% market share in a growing industry UNFI shows no sign of slowing down. The company has also been adding new partners year after year. In 2012 it added over 400 new stores including The Fresh Market, Food Lion and Giant Eagle. Not only is it adding new retailers but it is also increasing its store penetration with current customers. As an example its partnership with Kroger has gone from 5% penetration to over 20% penetration in just five years. It looks like the future holds even more growth for this industry leader
United Natural Foods’ business model revolves around supplying natural products to retailers. It supplies organic and specialty products to traditional and independent retailers, as well as natural food stores. It also supplies conventional supermarkets with organic and specialty products, including Kroger and Food Lion.
Conclusion
When taking a look at the United Natural Foods business model it is important to understand how they operate. They provide their customers with products that are organic, natural and specialty. UNFI works with many different types of retailers including traditional grocery stores as well as independent retailers such as Whole Foods Markets, Wild Oats Markets, Trader Joes, Sprouts Farmers Market among many others. This gives them a huge advantage over other distributors because they not only carry products from these retailers but also have relationships with them which helps drive sales growth for both sides of this equation
