United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), one of the largest US grocery distributors and the primary supplier for Whole Foods, has taken certain internal systems offline following the discovery of unauthorized activity on its networks.
The company disclosed the incident in a June 9 filing with the SEC, stating that it became aware of the breach on June 5 and “proactively” shut down some systems to contain the issue.
The disruption has affected UNFI’s ability to fulfill and distribute customer orders, with the company warning of continued operational delays.
A Whole Foods spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that it is “working to restock our shelves as quickly as possible,” while referring further inquiries back to United Natural.
Shares of UNFI dropped more than 8% during Monday trading and closed nearly 7% lower at $25.94.
The company has not specified the nature of the breach, but the scale and response are consistent with ransomware-type attacks that have hit other retailers in recent months, including Marks & Spencer, Harrods, and Victoria’s Secret.
UNFI, headquartered in Rhode Island, is the largest publicly traded distributor of organic and natural foods in North America.
In May, the company announced an eight-year extension as the primary distributor for Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon.
The FBI has not yet commented on the incident. UNFI reported $8.2 billion in net sales for the quarter ending February 1, 2025.
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