Food wholesaling plays an important role in the U.S. food marketing system by connecting processors and manufacturers with the businesses that serve consumers. Wholesalers assemble, store, and transport large quantities of food products from food manufacturers and processors to retailers, restaurants, institutions, government agencies, and other businesses.
Types of Wholesalers
The Census Bureau's Economic Census (conducted every 5 years) classifies food wholesalers into three main groups:
- Merchant wholesalers (excluding manufacturing sales branches and offices, or MSBOs)—often referred to as third-party wholesalers—are firms that purchase groceries and related products from manufacturers or processors and then resell them to retailers, institutions, and other businesses. Merchant wholesalers accounted for 55 percent of grocery wholesale sales in 2022, the same share as in the last Economic Census (2017).
- Manufacturing sales branches and offices (MSBOs) include wholesale operations that are run directly by grocery manufacturers to distribute their own products. MSBOs increased their share of grocery wholesale sales from 25 percent in 2012 to 27 percent in both 2017 and 2022.
- Agents and brokers are intermediaries who facilitate sales transactions on commission. Unlike wholesalers, they typically do not own or physically handle food products. Agents and brokers represented 18 percent of wholesale sales in 2022, unchanged from 2017.
Merchant Wholesalers by Product Type
Merchant wholesalers are further divided based on the types of foods they distribute:
- General-line distributors (broadline/full-line) handle a wide assortment of food and nonfood products—including fresh, frozen, and shelf-stable foods, beverages, and food-service supplies—to a broad range of customers such as retail outlets, restaurants, and institutions. General-line distributors accounted for 21 percent of grocery wholesale sales in 2022, the same share as in 2017.
- Specialty distributors focus on a narrower range of products or categories—such as frozen foods, dairy, meat, or fresh produce—and typically serve specific market segments or customer needs rather than offering full-line assortments. In 2022, specialty wholesalers made up 47 percent of grocery wholesale sales, with frozen foods (30 percent), meat (24 percent), and fresh produce (19 percent)—leading the specialty category.
- Miscellaneous distributors concentrate on a narrow range of dry groceries such as canned foods, bakery products, or beverages. These distributors accounted for 32 percent of grocery wholesales in 2022.
Food Wholesaling by Outlet
Food wholesalers supply both retailers (food at home) and food service operators (food away from home):
- Food retail outlets—ranging from supermarkets and supercenters to convenience stores and small neighborhood groceries—are the largest customers of wholesale distributors. Sales to retail food stores totaled $550.7 billion in 2022, representing 42.4 percent of total wholesale sales. This number is down from 48.8 percent in 2017.
- Restaurants and other food service companies are major customers of wholesalers. Sales to food-service operators reached $327.3 billion in 2022, about 22.5 percent of wholesale sales. While grocery retailers and restaurants compete for consumers' food dollars, wholesalers that supply these two sectors generally serve distinct markets and do not compete directly with one another.
- About a quarter of wholesale sales went to other wholesalers, including smaller firms sourcing from larger distributors.
Download chart image | Chart data
Food wholesalers operate under several business models:
- Broadline wholesalers supply large volumes of a wide range of food and nonfood products to grocery stores and other larger retail foodservice chains and businesses.
- Specialty wholesalers focus on narrower product categories such as fresh produce, meat, seafood, or ethnic foods. Their expertise in sourcing, cold-chain handling, or niche demand helps them serve retailers and restaurants that seek differentiation or unique product offerings.
- Self-distributing retailers and system distributors include large supermarket chains and chain restaurants that bypass independent wholesalers by operating their own distribution systems. Supermarkets run distribution centers to control inventory, costs, and supply chain efficiency—while chain restaurants rely on system distributors that centralize purchasing and support standardized menus.
Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers Sales
Inflation-adjusted wholesale sales by grocery and related product merchant wholesalers increased 26.8 percent, from $1,076 billion in 2002 to $1,364 billion in 2023 (expressed in 2025 dollars). Inflation-adjusted sales declined during the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009 (-1.69 and -2.77 percent, respectively) and again in 2020 (-3.85 percent) as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted supply chains and altered consumer demand. These declines were short-lived: inflation-adjusted sales increased 3.32 percent in 2010, 5.63 percent in 2021, and 2.56 percent in 2022, before declining 2.84 percent in 2023.
