Whole Foods Market: Main distributor to Amazon’s Whole Foods hit by cyber attack

Cyber Attack Disrupts United Natural Foods, Threatening Whole Foods Supply Chain

United Natural Foods (UNF), the primary distributor for Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market, has suffered significant operational disruptions following a cyber attack detected on June 5. The company, which relies on Whole Foods for nearly 23% of its $31 billion in annual net sales, confirmed "unauthorized activity" on its IT systems, forcing it to take critical systems offline. This has impaired its ability to fulfill and distribute customer orders, with further "temporary" disruptions expected as the investigation remains in its early stages.

UNF has notified law enforcement and is working to restore systems while implementing workarounds to mitigate supply chain impacts. The breach threatens the smooth delivery of fresh produce and branded products to over 30,000 locations across North America, including Whole Foods stores. The company’s role as Whole Foods’ primary distributor was recently extended until 2032 under a new agreement, underscoring its critical position in the grocery chain’s supply network.

The incident follows a string of cyber attacks targeting retailers, including recent disruptions at UK-based Marks & Spencer and Co-op. While UNF has not disclosed whether a ransom demand was made, the attack has already had financial repercussions its shares dropped 6.9% on Wall Street, reducing its market capitalization to $1.6 billion.

UNF’s relationship with Whole Foods predates Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of the grocery chain in 2017. The company is set to release its quarterly earnings report on June 11, though it remains unclear how the cyber incident will factor into its financial performance. Whole Foods has not commented on the situation.

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/5b11eb25-b50f-4de7-af89-a14ea3625982

Whole Foods Market TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/associated-wholesale-grocers

"id": "ass1771143865",
"linkid": "associated-wholesale-grocers",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "6/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Over 30,000 locations, '
                                              'including Whole Foods stores',
                        'industry': 'Food and Grocery Distribution',
                        'location': 'North America',
                        'name': 'United Natural Foods (UNF)',
                        'type': 'Distributor'}],
 'date_detected': '2024-06-05',
 'description': 'United Natural Foods (UNF), the primary distributor for '
                'Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market, has suffered significant '
                'operational disruptions following a cyber attack detected on '
                "June 5. The company confirmed 'unauthorized activity' on its "
                'IT systems, forcing it to take critical systems offline, '
                'impairing its ability to fulfill and distribute customer '
                'orders. The breach threatens the smooth delivery of fresh '
                'produce and branded products to over 30,000 locations across '
                'North America, including Whole Foods stores.',
 'impact': {'downtime': 'Temporary disruptions expected',
            'operational_impact': 'Impaired ability to fulfill and distribute '
                                  'customer orders',
            'systems_affected': 'IT systems, order fulfillment and '
                                'distribution systems'},
 'investigation_status': 'Early stages',
 'references': [{'source': 'News Article'}],
 'response': {'containment_measures': 'Took critical systems offline',
              'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Yes',
              'law_enforcement_notified': 'Yes',
              'remediation_measures': 'Working to restore systems, '
                                      'implementing workarounds'},
 'title': 'Cyber Attack Disrupts United Natural Foods, Threatening Whole Foods '
          'Supply Chain',
 'type': 'Cyber Attack'}