United Natural Foods Recognizes Grocery Retailers at 2025 Holiday and Winter Selling Show
Eleven retailers were honored in Circle of Excellence Awards;
Show highlights unique products and services to drive differentiation this holiday season
During its first Holiday and Winter Selling Show of 2025, United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) (the "Company" or "UNFI"), connected grocery retailers with a wide variety of supplier brands in preparation for the year's biggest selling season.
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UNFI's first Holiday and Winter Selling Show of 2025 in Las Vegas connected more than 2,200 UNFI retail customer representatives and more than 900 supplier brands across the natural, organic, fresh, specialty, and conventional grocery product categories. Exhibitors featured thousands of unique items – including innovative programs and exclusive, on-trend offerings – in preparation for the year's biggest selling season.
This year's Holiday and Winter Selling Show brought together more than 5,300 attendees, including nearly 2,200 UNFI retail customer representatives and more than 900 supplier brands across the natural, organic, fresh, specialty, and conventional grocery product categories. Exhibitors featured thousands of unique items – including exclusive, on-trend, and seasonal offerings – and more than 50 new-to-market products.
Honoring Outstanding Retailers
During the show, UNFI recognized 11 high-performing retailers that are raising the bar with innovative products, programs, and experiences as part of the Company's second annual Customer Circle of Excellence Awards.
"At UNFI, we're proud to serve a diverse and dynamic network of 30,000 retail stores that are the heartbeat of their communities," said Mark Bushway, President of Natural, Organic, Specialty & Fresh Products and UNFI Chief Supply Chain Officer. "We're honored to shine a light on a few of the many outstanding retailers who are driving growth through unique product offerings, high-impact merchandising strategies, and differentiated shopping experiences that keep everyone in grocery at the top of their game."
In a live ceremony, UNFI named Harmons Neighborhood Grocer the Local Independent of the Year and Vallarta Supermarkets the National Chain of the Year. UNFI also honored the following retailers by both region and size for driving exceptional business performance and meaningful community impact.
Central Region
- Local Independent Performance Award – Marohn's Marketplace
- Local Independent Impact Award – Plum Market
- Regional Chain Performance Award – Dave's Supermarkets and Lucky's Markets of Ohio
- Regional Chain Impact Award – Dierbergs
West Region
- Local Independent Performance Award – Market of Choice
- Local Independent Impact Award – Jimbo's
- Regional Chain Performance Award – Good Food Holdings
- Regional Chain Impact Award – Raley's
National
- National Chain Impact Award - National Co+op Grocers (NCG)
"It's an incredible honor to be recognized by UNFI as part of their Circle of Excellence Awards. This recognition is a reflection of the entire Vallarta team and the passion they bring to every part of our business—from merchandising and marketing to customer experience and community impact," said David Hinojosa, Chief Operating Officer, Vallarta Supermarkets. "We're proud to serve our communities and this award inspires us to keep striving for excellence. Thank you to UNFI for celebrating the work we do, and to our entire Vallarta family for making it possible."
Read more about the Central and West region winners here. UNFI also recognized East region winners during its Spring and Summer Selling Show earlier this year in Orlando, Fla.
Bringing Visibility to Emerging Brands
To complement the show's focus on innovative products and new-to-market brands, UNFI also hosted its signature Pitch Slam competition, which gives emerging suppliers in the Company's UpNext program the opportunity to present their products to a live audience of their peers and retail buyers.
"When we created Huxley, we set out to make an energy drink that consumers would feel good about drinking - something as natural and balanced as it is delicious," said Simon Solis-Cohen, Huxley founder. "UNFI's UpNext program has helped us broaden our visibility and reach more consumers in their favorite stores. We're grateful for the partnership and look forward to continuing to grow together."
Exploring Insights & Services to Drive Differentiation During the Holidays
UNFI leaders shared the importance of differentiation for grocers to stand out and remain competitive in today's evolving retail landscape. With online grocery shopping expected to grow an estimated 18% in the next 24 months*, data-driven digital solutions and forward-thinking partnerships are key to helping retailers meet shoppers where they are and drive profitable growth.
Examples include the UNFI Media Network's Audience Optimizer, which helps retailers execute smarter promotions and sharper targeting while maximizing their return on advertising spend (ROAS). In addition, UNFI showcased AI-Powered Loss Prevention, a surveillance-integrated capability that has helped retailers drive up to 60% shrink reduction. This service is especially useful during the holiday season when many retailers see an uptick in loss.
UNFI's Holiday and Winter Show for the East region will be held July 29-31, 2025, at the Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Uncasville, Conn.
Source*
- US Online Grocery Market Forecast Report 2025
About UNFI
UNFI is North America's premier grocery wholesaler delivering the widest variety of fresh, branded, and owned brand products to more than 30,000 locations throughout North America, including natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, ecommerce providers, and food service customers. UNFI also provides a broad range of value-added services and segmented marketing expertise, including proprietary technology, data, market insights, and shelf management to help customers and suppliers build their businesses and brands. As the largest full-service grocery partner in North America, UNFI is committed to building a food system that is better for all and is uniquely positioned to deliver great food, more choices, and fresh thinking to customers. To learn more about how UNFI is delivering value for its stakeholders, visit www.unfi.com.
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