New Distribution Channel for United Natural Foods
DAYVILLE, Conn., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Natural Foods,
Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI) today announced that it has partnered with Sodexho USA
(NYSE: SDX) to distribute natural and organic products to Sodexho USA's 6,000
institutional foodservice facilities across the United States. Sodexho USA is
a leading provider of food and facilities management services to schools,
corporate, campus and healthcare facilities.
Under the new agreement, UNFI will also distribute products to Herb'n Farm
-- Om Style Cooking, the new natural and organic food brand from Wild Sage
Foods, Inc., an organic food supplier and restaurant concept based in Mill
Valley, CA. The eco-friendly, eat-in/carry-out chain, Herb'n Farm rolled out
earlier this year in Sodexho USA's campus dining division at Colorado College
in Colorado Springs, CO. Sodexho USA, in collaboration with Wild Sage Foods
and through the support of UNFI's distribution network, is in the process of
expanding the Herb'n Farm concept into the corporate dining and healthcare
markets with three to five new locations opening in the next year.
Steven Townsend, Chief Executive Officer of United Natural Foods,
commented, "The agreement to distribute to Sodexho USA's institutional
foodservice locations and Wild Sage Foods' organic foods restaurants is a
natural progression for us and is part of our strategic objective to expand
our presence into all viable sales channels. We look forward to working with
Sodexho USA, an organization committed to providing nutritious and sustainable
fare to a variety of institutional settings."
About Sodexho USA
Sodexho USA ( www.sodexhoUSA.com ) is the leading provider of food and
facilities management in the United States. Sodexho USA offers innovative
outsourcing solutions in food service, housekeeping, grounds keeping, plant
operations and maintenance, asset management, and laundry services to more
than 6,000 corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers,
schools, college campuses, military and remote sites in North America.
Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Sodexho USA serves as the official food
service provider for the US Marine Corps.
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes over 32,000 products to
more than 14,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of
retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product
superstores and independent retail operators.
For more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's
web-site at www.unfi.com .
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding the Company's business
that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve
risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties,
which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to general business
conditions, the impact of competition and our dependence on principal
customers, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q
filed with the Commission on June 14, 2003, and its other filings under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any forward-looking statements
are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and,
as such, speak only as of the date made. The Company is not undertaking to
update any information in the foregoing reports until the effective date of
its future reports required by applicable laws. Any projections of future
results of operations should not be construed in any manner as a guarantee
that such results will in fact occur. These projections are subject to change
and could differ materially from final reported results. The Company may from
time to time update these publicly announced projections, but it is not
obligated to do so.
SOURCE United Natural Foods, Inc.
CONTACT: Rick D. Puckett, Chief Financial Officer of United Natural
Foods, Inc., +1-860-779-2800; or General Information, Joseph Calabrese,
+1-212-445-8434, or Analyst Information, Vanessa Schwartz, +1-212-445-8433,
both of FRB Weber Shandwick
Web site: http://www.sodexhoUSA.com
http://www.unfi.com