COMPANYHISTORIES
NAIC 42211

General Line Grocery Wholesalers

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

29companies1876–1993founding years28still active1no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedMusgrave Group Plc
1876
FoundedBarilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A.
1877
FoundedNash Finch Company
1896
FoundedBooker Cash & Carry Ltd.
1900
FoundedHale-Halsell Company
1901
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedKoninklijke Wessanen nv
1913
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
1916
EconomyPiggly Wiggly opens the first self-service grocery store.
FoundedSpartan Stores Inc.
1918
FoundedThe Connell Company
1926
FoundedGeorge Weston Limited
1928
FoundedGrupo Casa Saba, S.A. de C.V.
1937
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
FoundedGordon Food Service Inc.FoundedLeprino Foods Company
1946
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedNorthern Foods plc
1949
FoundedSPAR Handels AG
1952
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedAffiliated Foods Inc.
1968
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedJetro Cash & Carry Enterprises Inc.
1976
FoundedUnited Natural Foods, Inc.
1977
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedPerformance Food Group Company
1987
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Musgrave Group Plc →
Active · founded 1876 · Ballycurreen, Airport Road
Musgrave Group Plc is Ireland's largest wholesale grocery distributor and the franchiser of two leading Irish grocery…
Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A. →
Active · founded 1877 · Italy
One of the world's largest food marketers, Barilla G.
The Copps Corporation →
Active · founded 1892
The Copps Corporation is one of Wisconsin's largest privately held businesses.
Nash Finch Company →
Active · founded 1896
One of the largest food wholesalers in the United States, Nash Finch Company serves more than 1,800 supermarkets and…
Booker Cash & Carry Ltd. →
Active · founded 1900 · United Kingdom
Booker Cash & Carry Ltd.
Hazlewood Foods plc →
Active · founded 1900 · United Kingdom
Hazlewood Foods plc is one of Europe's leading producers of convenience foods, including frozen foods and other…
Hale-Halsell Company →
Active · founded 1901
The Hale-Halsell Company has grown from its modest roots as a food supplier to settlers in newly opened Indian…
Gristede's Foods Inc. →
Active · founded 1913
Gristede's Foods, Inc., owns and operates 46 supermarkets in the New York City metropolitan area.
Koninklijke Wessanen nv →
Active · founded 1913 · The Netherlands
Early 20th Century:Company exits from the cheese, seed, and grain trades and begins focusing on processed products.
Spartan Stores Inc. →
Active · founded 1918
Once a wholesale grocery cooperative, Spartan Stores Inc.
Kaufring AG →
Active · founded 1921 · Germany
Kaufring AG is the leading German wholesale organization for mid-sized independent department stores and special…
The Connell Company →
Active · founded 1926
Originally and perhaps best known as a major broker of rice, The Connell Company has grown to become one of the largest…
George Weston Limited →
Active · founded 1928 · Canada
George Weston Limited is a major Canadian food processor and distributor, with a number of operations in the United…
Associated Grocers, Incorporated →
Active · founded 1934
Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Associated Grocers, Incorporated, is a retailer-owned cooperative that…
Grupo Casa Saba, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1937 · Mexico
Grupo Casa Saba, S.A.
Topco Associates LLC →
Active · founded 1944
After the agreement was finalized, Topco would have 54 members.
Gordon Food Service Inc. →
Active · founded 1946
Gordon Food Service Inc.
Leprino Foods Company →
Active · founded 1946
Leprino Foods Company, owned by the Leprino family, is the largest producer of mozzarella cheese in the United States.
Wakefern Food Corporation →
Active · founded 1946
Wakefern Food Corporation is the wholesale purchasing and distributing cooperative for about 190 ShopRite supermarkets…
Northern Foods plc →
Active · founded 1949 · United Kingdom
Northern Foods plc is one of the United Kingdom's leading manufacturers of high-quality fresh foods, supplying the…
SPAR Handels AG →
Active · founded 1952 · Germany
SPAR Handels AG is Germany's seventh largest company active in grocery wholesale and retail with a market share of…
Provigo Inc. →
Active · founded 1961 · Canada
Provigo Inc.
Affiliated Foods Inc. →
Defunct · founded 1968
Affiliated Foods Inc., headquartered in Amarillo, Texas, is a grocers' cooperative provisioning over 700 independent,…
Golden State Foods Corporation →
Active · founded 1969
Golden State Foods Corporation is a food processor and distributor, supplying more than 130 products to McDonald's…
Jetro Cash & Carry Enterprises Inc. →
Active · founded 1976
Jetro Cash & Carry Enterprises Inc.
United Natural Foods, Inc. →
Active · founded 1977
United Natural Foods, Inc.
Holberg Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1986
Holberg Industries, Inc., a holding company, was one of the largest privately held companies in the United States.
Performance Food Group Company →
Active · founded 1987
Performance Food Group Company (PFG) distributes food and food-related products to institutional customers, such as…
Buhrmann NV →
Active · founded 1993 · The Netherlands
Buhrmann NV is the world's largest business-to-business provider of office products, paper, and graphics systems.
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