United Natural Foods Cyber Incident Disrupts Operations, Affects Whole Foods Supply
United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI), a major U.S. grocery distributor supplying clients including Whole Foods, experienced a cyber incident that forced it to take certain internal systems offline, temporarily disrupting its ability to fulfill and distribute customer orders.
The company disclosed in a June 9 SEC filing that it proactively shut down some systems after detecting unauthorized activity on its networks on June 5. While specifics of the incident were not disclosed, the disruption has caused operational delays expected to continue for a time.
Shares of United Natural fell sharply on Monday, closing down nearly 7% at $25.94 amid concerns over the incident’s impact.
A Whole Foods spokesperson confirmed efforts to restock shelves promptly but referred further questions to United Natural Foods.
This incident follows a series of recent cyberattacks affecting major retailers in the U.S. and UK, including Marks & Spencer, Co-op, Harrods, and Victoria’s Secret. While United Natural has not confirmed the nature of the unauthorized activity, similar disruptions have frequently involved ransomware attacks, where criminals encrypt company data and demand ransom payments.
United Natural Foods is the largest publicly traded distributor focused on “healthier food options” across the U.S. and Canada and recently secured an eight-year extension as primary distributor for Amazon-owned Whole Foods. The company reported $8.2 billion in net sales for the 13 weeks ending February 1, 2025.
The FBI has not commented on the incident.