CHICAGO, June 23, 2025 — The second quarter is proving a hot one for news about distributors serving the food-away-from-home business. Here’s a sampling of recent developments.
Sysco awaits wrap-up of security-breach settlement
Participants in a class-action lawsuit against broadliner Sysco Corp. have until Sept. 8 to claim their share of a $2.3 million settlement arising from a 2023 data-security breach.
According to a website set up by order of a federal court, the Houston-based distributor admits no wrongdoing but has agreed to pay past or current employees whose personal information may have been exposed to a hacker beginning in January 2023. Court documents state that Sysco did not learn of the security breach by a “threat actor” until March 2023. Sysco said in the documents that the hacker was not authorized to view such information as Social Security numbers but did not reveal how the individual gained access.
A settlement was hammered out through mediation. The deal and disbursement of funds is subject to final approval by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas in October.
SpartanNash to be acquired by C&S for $1.8 billion
Grocery distributor and food-away-from-home retailer SpartanNash has agreed to be acquired by supermarket distributor C&S Wholesale Grocers for $26.90 per share, or an aggregate price of $1.77 billion.
The price eclipses SpartanNash’s share price as of the equity markets’ close on Friday by 52.5%. The boards of both companies have already approved the deal.
The acquisition will expand C&S’s grocery distribution business to more than 10,000 independent retailers and 200 chain operations.
It also adds SpartanNash’s dozen or so food retail concepts, which sell groceries and ready-to-eat foods. The company also owns a like number of proprietary retail-product brands.
The deal is expected to close by the end of 2025.
Longtime UniPro exec Scott Strull announces his exit
After serving 30 years in a variety of positions with the UniPro Foodservice distribution cooperative, Scott Strull has decided to strike out on his own.
Currently EVP of Strategic Business Units, the longtime veteran will exit UniPro in April 2026 to start his own consulting business.
“Scott has played a vital role in UniPro’s success,” UniPro Bob Stewart said in a prepared statement. “We thank him for his service and look forward to celebrating his contributions in the coming year.”
UniPro is a network of 475 independent distributors that collaborate on purchasing and product branding.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.
Cover image courtesy: Closed Loop Project