UNFI Honors Five Retailers At Spring And Summer Show

Five retailers that are driving growth, innovation, and community impact across the grocery retail industry were honored by United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) at its Spring and Summer Selling Show in Orlando.

UNFI’s second annual Customer Circle of Excellence Awards honored retailers in the East region:

• Local Independent Performance Award – AML Foods: a leading retailer in the Bahamas that partners with UNFI on several programs. With recent remodels AML Foods has added new offerings across departments and is poised to open another store later this year. Impressively, 80% of their customers are on their loyalty program.
• Local Independent Impact Award – Healthy Living Markets: the company is dedicated to caring for the environment and focuses on issues of global and local concern, including compostable containers, cutlery, lids, and produce bags. The retailer is committed to a fun, supportive, and flexible workplace, with incentives for employee sustainability activities. Their stores are powered by 100% renewable energy.
• Regional/National Chain Performance Award – America’s Food Basket: the retailer has been a key partner in UNFI’s Tropical Produce program and continues to gain market share in the north and southeast through a variety of initiatives, including a focus on multicultural offerings.
• Regional National Chain Impact Award – The Fresh Market: from hunger relief and employee engagement to local sourcing and inclusivity in product offerings, The Fresh Market is making a difference through its programs and partnerships.
• National Chain Performance Award – DoorDash: the company was honored for empowering emerging brands, supporting virtual storefronts and allowing small businesses to thrive on a national scale by utilizing the DashMart network.

“With thousands of retail banners and countless outstanding achievements across our diverse network, it’s nearly impossible to choose just five winners for our annual Customer Circle of Excellence Awards,” said Mark Bushway, president of Natural, Organic, Specialty & Fresh Products and UNFI’s chief supply chain officer. “These retailers, each with unique value propositions, are driving growth, innovation, and impact in ways that inspire our industry to be better every day.”

UNFI’s Spring and Summer Selling Show in central Florida brought together more than 4,500 attendees, connecting 2,300 retailers with nearly 900 supplier brands over two days. Exhibitors showcased thousands of unique items, including 50 new-to-market products, spanning the natural, organic, fresh, specialty, and conventional grocery categories.

During the show, UNFI leaders also highlighted innovative capabilities the company is building to help retailers effectively differentiate and compete in an increasingly dynamic market. For example, as preference toward private label brands continues to grow, with 95% of Americans using them today, the UNFI Brands+ team discussed top strategies to help retailers drive increased traffic, loyalty, and sales. Best practices included maximizing private brand assortment, expanding premium private brand offerings, and amplifying in-store marketing.