Top 5 Largest Food Distributors in the US [2025 Rankings]

The US food distribution industry moves over $800 billion in product every year — and a small handful of companies control the majority of that volume. These distributors sit between food manufacturers and the restaurants, hospitals, schools, and retailers that feed America. Understanding who they are, how they have grown, and what makes each one distinct matters for any food manufacturer or supplier navigating this market.

This article ranks the five largest food distributors in the United States by revenue, using the most recent fiscal year figures available as of 2025.

Top 5 largest food distributors in the US: at a glance

Revenue figures for Sysco, Performance Food Group, and US Foods are sourced from most recent publicly filed annual reports. Gordon Food Service and Ben E. Keith are private companies — their figures are third-party estimates.

1. Sysco — $81.4 billion in revenue

Sysco is the largest food distributor in the United States by a significant margin and one of the largest in the world. Founded in Houston in 1969, the company today serves over 730,000 customer locations across restaurants, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, hotels, and hospitality venues. Its network spans 340 distribution centers globally, with the majority in the US.

According to Sysco's FY2025 annual report, revenue reached $81.4 billion, up from $78.8 billion in FY2024 — representing roughly 3.2% year-over-year growth. A significant development in 2024 was the acquisition of Edward Don and Company, a leading foodservice equipment and supply distributor with approximately $1.3 billion in annual revenue, which expanded Sysco's reach beyond food into equipment and supplies for commercial kitchens.

Sysco's scale gives it capabilities that smaller distributors cannot match: a private fleet of over 13,000 delivery vehicles, proprietary brands including Sysco Imperial and Sysco Classic, and technology platforms that give restaurant operators real-time inventory and ordering tools. For food manufacturers, Sysco is typically the largest single potential distribution partner in the country — and the most competitive to win shelf space with.

2. Performance Food Group — $63.3 billion in revenue

Performance Food Group (PFG) has grown dramatically over the past five years through aggressive acquisitions and now ranks as the second-largest food distributor in the US. Per PFG's FY2025 earnings release, revenue reached $63.3 billion — an 8.6% year-over-year increase and the strongest growth rate among the major public distributors.

The most significant move in 2024 was PFG's $2.1 billion acquisition of Cheney Brothers, a major Southeast US distributor with approximately $3.2 billion in annual revenue, five distribution centers in Florida and North Carolina, and 3,600 employees. Combined with its 2019 acquisition of Reinhart Foodservice and earlier purchases, PFG has assembled a national broadline network that now rivals US Foods in geographic coverage.

PFG operates three main segments: Foodservice (restaurants, healthcare, hospitality), Vistar (convenience stores, theaters, vending), and Customized (national chain accounts). This diversification across channels has been a key driver of its revenue stability and growth trajectory. PFG now serves over 300,000 customer locations.

3. US Foods — $39.4 billion in revenue

US Foods is the third-largest foodservice distributor in the US, serving approximately 300,000 customers from 72 distribution centers across the country. Per US Foods' FY2025 earnings release, revenue reached $39.4 billion, a 4.1% increase over FY2024's $37.9 billion.

Founded in 1989 through the merger of several regional distributors, US Foods focuses exclusively on foodservice — restaurants, healthcare, hospitality, and education — unlike Sysco and PFG, which have broader distribution operations. This focus has helped it build deep relationships in its core channels: independent restaurants grew case volume 3.3% in FY2025, healthcare grew 4.4%, and hospitality grew 2.9% — per US Foods' FY2025 annual report.

US Foods has invested significantly in technology tools for its restaurant customers, including its CHEF'STORE cash-and-carry warehouse format and digital ordering platforms. Net income increased 36.8% to $676 million in FY2025, reflecting margin improvement through operational efficiency and the shift to higher-margin independent restaurant accounts.

4. Gordon Food Service — ~$12.9 billion in revenue

Gordon Food Service (GFS) is the largest privately held foodservice distributor in North America. Family-owned and based in Grand Rapids, Michigan since 1897, GFS serves over 100,000 customers across the US and Canada. As a private company, GFS does not publish formal financial statements — the $12.9 billion revenue figure is a third-party estimate based on available industry data.

GFS operates differently from its publicly traded competitors in a few notable ways. The company has maintained family ownership across four generations, which allows it to take longer investment horizons than publicly traded distributors facing quarterly earnings pressure. GFS also operates a chain of retail stores (Gordon Food Service Store locations) that serve both consumers and foodservice operators, giving it a direct-to-customer channel not available to Sysco, PFG, or US Foods.

GFS is particularly strong in the Midwest, Southeast, and Canada. For food manufacturers looking to reach those geographies through a single distributor partner, GFS's density in those markets makes it a high-value distribution channel.

5. Ben E. Keith Company — ~$7.9 billion in revenue

Ben E. Keith is a privately held food and beverage distributor headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, primarily serving the south-central United States. Founded in 1906, the company distributes food products alongside a significant beverages division that distributes beer, wine, and spirits in Texas and Oklahoma.

Ben E. Keith's estimated revenue reached approximately $7.9 billion in FY2024, a roughly 9% increase from the prior year driven in part by its acquisition of Wis-Pak, a beverage manufacturing and distribution company. The company distributes to approximately 60,000 restaurant, hotel, and institutional customers across its service territory.

For food manufacturers, Ben E. Keith is particularly important for reaching independent restaurants, regional chains, and foodservice operators in Texas and surrounding states — a geography where Sysco, PFG, and US Foods all have a presence, but where Ben E. Keith's regional depth gives it a competitive edge in customer relationships.

Industry context: consolidation and market growth

The US food distribution industry has been consolidating steadily for the past decade, and that trend accelerated in 2024. The two most significant transactions were PFG's $2.1 billion acquisition of Cheney Brothers and Sysco's acquisition of Edward Don and Company — both completed in 2024. Strategic buyers accounted for over 60% of food distribution M&A activity by deal volume in 2024.

The drivers behind consolidation are straightforward: distribution is a thin-margin, high-volume business where scale directly translates to cost efficiency in transportation, warehousing, and purchasing. Larger distributors can negotiate better supplier terms, optimize delivery routes more efficiently, and invest in technology platforms that smaller competitors cannot afford to build independently.

For food manufacturers, this consolidation has a direct implication: fewer, larger distribution partners control a growing share of the route to market. Winning a placement with Sysco or PFG has more impact than it did a decade ago — but it is also more competitive, and the expectations around data, labeling, lead times, and order fulfillment have risen accordingly.

What food manufacturers should know about working with distributors

Large distributors evaluate supplier partners on a consistent set of criteria: fill rate, on-time delivery, invoice accuracy, product data quality, and the ability to handle returns and credits efficiently. The operational burden falls on the manufacturer's systems — if your ERP cannot provide accurate lot tracing, generate advance ship notices (ASNs), or manage distributor-specific pricing tiers, you will struggle to maintain placement with a national distributor.

The largest distributors also increasingly require EDI integration — electronic transmission of purchase orders, invoices, and ASNs. Manufacturers without EDI capability typically need to add it when pursuing a relationship with Sysco, US Foods, or PFG.

For food manufacturers evaluating how to improve distributor compliance and operational readiness, a purpose-built Food ERP that handles lot traceability, EDI, and distributor-specific pricing natively is typically the foundation that makes those relationships scalable.

Sources

• Sysco Corporation — FY2025 Annual Report & Investor Relations
• Performance Food Group — FY2025 Full-Year Earnings Release
• US Foods — FY2025 Annual Earnings Release
• Gordon Food Service — Company Overview
• MacroTrends — Sysco Revenue History
• MacroTrends — Performance Food Group Revenue History

Frequently asked questions

Who is the largest food distributor in the United States?

Sysco is the largest food distributor in the United States by revenue, with FY2025 revenue of $81.4 billion. It serves over 730,000 customer locations from 340 distribution centers globally and employs over 76,000 people.

Is Performance Food Group bigger than US Foods?

Yes, as of FY2025. Performance Food Group reported $63.3 billion in revenue compared to US Foods' $39.4 billion. PFG surpassed US Foods in revenue primarily through its 2024 acquisition of Cheney Brothers and earlier acquisitions including Reinhart Foodservice. US Foods remains larger in terms of pure foodservice focus and number of distribution centers (72 for US Foods vs. a distributed multi-segment network for PFG).

What is the difference between a broadline food distributor and a specialty distributor?

A broadline food distributor carries a wide range of products — proteins, produce, dairy, dry goods, frozen foods, beverages — and delivers to multiple customer types. Sysco, US Foods, PFG, and GFS are broadline distributors. A specialty distributor focuses on a narrower product category or customer type, such as a fresh produce-only distributor, a seafood specialist, or a distributor serving only healthcare foodservice. Specialty distributors often serve as secondary suppliers to operators who rely on a broadline distributor for most of their volume.

Which food distributors are privately held?

Gordon Food Service and Ben E. Keith are the two largest private food distributors in the US. McLane Company, which distributes primarily to convenience stores and mass retail rather than foodservice, is another large private distributor owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Because private companies do not file public financial statements, their revenue figures are third-party estimates and may vary across sources.

How do food distributors select which products to carry?

Distributors evaluate new products primarily on projected case volume, margin, existing customer demand, and operational fit (shelf life, storage temperature, minimum order quantities). National distributors like Sysco and US Foods also consider whether a product has sufficient marketing support and whether the manufacturer can meet fill rate and delivery performance standards. Regional and specialty distributors may have more flexibility but typically require exclusivity arrangements or minimum volume commitments.