US Foods Holding Corp. (US Foods) operates as a manufacturer, processor, marketer, distributor, and seller of food and non-food products. The company conducts all of its operations through its wholly owned subsidiary US Foods, Inc. (USF).
The company strives to inspire and empower chefs and foodservice operators to bring great food experiences to consumers. The company operates as one business with standardized business processes, shared systems infrastructure, and an organizational model that...
US Foods Holding Corp. (US Foods) operates as a manufacturer, processor, marketer, distributor, and seller of food and non-food products. The company conducts all of its operations through its wholly owned subsidiary US Foods, Inc. (USF).
The company strives to inspire and empower chefs and foodservice operators to bring great food experiences to consumers. The company operates as one business with standardized business processes, shared systems infrastructure, and an organizational model that optimizes national scale with local execution, allowing the company to manage its business as a single operating segment. The company has centralized activities where scale matters and the company’s local field structure focuses on customer facing activities.
The company supplies approximately 250,000 customer locations nationwide. These customer locations include independent restaurants, chain restaurants, healthcare, hospitality, education, and other customers. The company provides fresh, frozen, and dry food products, as well as non-food items, sourced from thousands of suppliers. Approximately 4,000 sales associates manage customer relationships at local, regional, and national levels. The company’s sales associates are supported by sophisticated marketing and category management capabilities, as well as a sales support team that includes world-class chefs and restaurant operations consultants, new business development managers and others that help the company provides more comprehensive service to its customers. The company’s relationship with its customer is further strengthened by its MOXe digital platform that makes it easy for its customers to manage their orders and inventories, while also providing valuable support for their business. The company’s extensive network of over 70 distribution facilities and fleet of over 6,500 trucks, along with approximately 90 cash and carry locations, allow the company to operate efficiently and provide high levels of customer service.
Given the company’s mix of products and services, the company is considered a broadline distributor. The company’s target customer types—independent restaurants, healthcare and hospitality—value foodservice distributors with a broad product offering and value-added services that help them be efficient and effective in running their operations. Sales to the company’s top 50 customers, including group purchasing organizations (‘GPOs’), represented approximately 47% of the company’s net sales in the year ended December 28, 2024 (fiscal year 2024).
The company has entered into contractual relationships with certain GPOs that negotiate pricing, delivery and other terms on behalf of their members. In fiscal year 2024, GPOs accounted for approximately 25% of the company’s net sales. GPOs are primarily consisted of customers in the healthcare, hospitality, education, and government/military industries.
Business Strategy
The company’s WE HELP YOU MAKE IT brand promise is founded on its quality products and services but also on its commitment to innovation. Through this strategy, the company delivers unmatched value for customers as consultants and business partners, bringing them personalized solutions and tailoring a suite of innovative products and services to fit their needs.
More Quality: A portion of the company’s strategy is anchored by leading quality and innovation in its own Exclusive Brands that span the categories of produce and center-of-the-plate and includes its commitment to innovative products through Scoop. This program introduces innovative and on-trend products multiple times a year, helping the company’s customers keep their menus fresh and delivering back-of-house convenience to reduce their labor and food costs. A growing part of the company’s Scoop portfolio is its Serve Good program. The Serve Good program, including Progress Check, features more than 900 products that are sustainably sourced or contribute to waste reduction. The company also recently launched its Serve You portfolio of products that is aligned to consumer preferences for plant-forward, gluten-free, and cleaner ingredients. Together there are over 4,000 products in the company’s Serve Good and Serve You portfolios. The company’s private brand portfolio is guided by a spirit of innovation and a commitment to delivering superior quality products and value to customers.
More Deliveries: This means more on-time and complete orders and customer choice via the omni-channel offering the company have to serve its customers. As noted above, the company’s strategy of making it easier for its customers includes servicing its customers through multiple channels. The company has over 90 cash and carry locations to provide more customers with a retail option in between deliveries and to serve more price-conscious and smaller customers. The company’s US Foods Direct service more than doubles its product assortment and provides customers with access to thousands of specialty products which ship directly to them from the supplier. Additionally, US Foods Pronto service allows restaurant operators to receive smaller orders more frequently. All of these channels provide the company’s customers options to shop their way.
More Tools: MOXe is the industry leading platform that makes it easy for the company’s customers to transact with it and run their businesses. The company’s mobile technology platform provides customers with a personalized digital ordering experience and easy-to-use business analytics tools. Digital solutions are utilized in over 80% of the company’s sales transactions. Customers utilizing these solutions tend to purchase more products and have stronger commercial relationships with it. The company also has Check Business Tools, its portfolio of value-added services that helps customers address key pain points like food waste, back-of-house operations and diner traffic. This suite of tools includes personalized, custom menu design all the way through integrated point of sale systems that enable a more seamless order experience.
More Support: By delivering the company’s products and services through a differentiated team-based selling approach, it provides customers access to a diverse team of experts. In addition to the company’s tenured and experienced sales representatives, its team includes chefs, center-of-the-plate and produce specialists and restaurant operations consultants.
On April 5, 2024, USF completed the acquisition of IWC Food Service, a broadline distributor in Tennessee.
Products and Brands
The company has a broad assortment of products and brands designed to meet customers’ needs. In many categories, the company offers products under a spectrum of private brands based on price and quality, covering a range of values and qualities.
The company has registered the trademarks US Foods, Food Fanatics, and CHEF’STORE as part of the company’s overall brand strategy and its retail outlets. The company has also registered or applied for trademark protection in the U.S. for the company’s private brands. These trademarks and the company’s private brands are widely recognized within the U.S. foodservice industry.
Government Regulation
The company is subject to various laws and regulations relating to the manufacturing, processing, handling, storage, transportation, sale, advertising and labeling of food products, including the applicable provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act; Bioterrorism Act; Food Safety Modernization Act; Federal Meat Inspection Act; Poultry Products Inspection Act; Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act; Country of Origin Labeling Act; regulations issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the company’s operations and products that could restrict the sale of certain products or result in enforcement actions by federal, state and local government agencies under applicable standards.
The company’s distribution facilities must be registered with the FDA and are subject to periodic government agency inspections by federal and/or state authorities. The company has a number of processing facilities for certain meat, poultry, seafood, and produce products. These units are registered and inspected by the USDA (with respect to meat and poultry) and the FDA (with respect to produce and seafood) as applicable. The company’s CHEF’STORE locations are registered with and inspected by various state and local authorities.
The company’s customers include several departments of the U.S. federal government, as well as certain state and local governmental entities. These customer relationships subject the company to additional regulations that are applicable to government contractors. For example, as a U.S. federal government contractor, the company is subject to audit by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
The U.S. Department of Labor and its agencies, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (‘OSHA’), and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, regulate the company’s employment practices and standards for workers. The company is also subject to laws that prohibit discrimination in employment based on non-merit categories, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other laws relating to accessibility. The company’s workers’ compensation self-insurance is subject to regulation by the jurisdictions in which the company operates.
The company’s facilities are subject to inspections under the Occupational Safety and Health Act related to the company’s compliance with certain manufacturing, health and safety standards to protect its employees from accidents. The company is also subject to the National Labor Relations Act, which governs the process for collective bargaining between employers and employees and protects the rights of both employers and employees in the workplace.
The U.S. Department of Transportation and its agencies, the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, regulate the company’s fleet operations through the regulation of operations, safety, insurance and hazardous materials. The company must comply with the regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, including those relating to drug and alcohol testing and hours of service for the company’s drivers.
The company’s operations are subject to a broad range of U.S. federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, as well as zoning and building regulations. Environmental laws and regulations cover a variety of procedures, including appropriately managing wastewater and stormwater; complying with clean air laws, including those governing vehicle emissions; properly handling and disposing of solid and hazardous wastes; protecting against and appropriately investigating and remediating spills and releases; and monitoring and maintaining underground and aboveground storage tanks for diesel fuel and other petroleum products.
Because the company is organized under the laws of the state of Delaware and the company’s principal place of business is in the U.S., the company is considered a ‘domestic concern’ under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and are covered by its anti-bribery provisions.
History
The company was incorporated in 2007. The company was formerly known as USF Holding Corp. and changed its name to US Foods Holding Corp. in 2016.