United Natural Foods

Leadership

J. Alexander (Sandy) Douglas has served as UNFI's chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors since August 2021. He succeeded former CEO, Steven Spinner.^[10]

In August 2026, UNFI named new executive leadership officers. Giorgio Matteo Tarditi was named president and chief operating officer, with responsibility for product sales organizations, enterprise customer relationships, supply chain operations, technology and lean implementation. Alfredo Luchini became chief financial officer.^[11]

Acquisitions

Since 1996, other regional distributors have merged with UNFI, filling in the distribution footprint and making UNFI the largest distributor of natural products.^[12]

In 2007, UNFI acquired Millbrook Distribution Services.^[13] In 2011, UNFI signed a distribution agreement with Safeway Inc. for the distribution of non-proprietary natural, organic and specialty products.^[14] This agreement was terminated by Safeway in July 2015,^[15] leading to a drop in share price and two rounds of layoffs, the first in the company's history.

In 2012, UNFI partnered with Buyer's Best Friend to create a unified reordering system.^{[clarification needed][16]}

UNFI acquired Tony's Fine Foods, a West Sacramento, California-based perishable food distributor in 2014. Two years later, the company completed the acquisition of Nor-Cal produce, Inc.,^[17] Haddon House Food Products, Inc.,^[18] and Gourmet Guru, Inc.^[19] On October 22, 2018, UNFI completed the acquisition of SuperValu, Inc.^[20]

Unauthorized computer system activity

In June 2025, UNFI disclosed that it had identified unauthorized activity in its computer systems. The company took certain systems offline while investigating the incident and subsequently restored ordering and invoicing systems. The incident disrupted operations and reduced fiscal 2025 sales, reportedly resulting in approximately $400 million in lost sales during the fiscal year.^[8]