Whole Foods' distributor faces apparent cyberattack
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A Whole Foods produce section in New York. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
United Natural Foods Inc., the primary distributor for Whole Foods, said Monday it had to take some of its systems offline after an apparent cyberattack.
Why it matters: In the short-term, the company might not be able to fully fulfill customers' orders as it investigates the potential hack.
Driving the news: United Natural Foods said in an SEC filing that it noticed "unauthorized activity" on some of its IT systems on Friday, prompting the company to proactively shut down some of its systems and call in law enforcement and third-party cybersecurity investigators.
- It's unclear when those systems will be back up and running — or what kind of incident spurred the shutdowns.
- United Natural Foods said in a statement on its website that it is working closely with their customers and suppliers to "minimize disruptions as much as possible" in the short-term.
Threat level: News of the possible cyberattack comes as a group of ransomware hackers, who wreaked havoc on British retailers last month, started turning their attention to American companies.
State of play: United Natural Foods works with more than 30,000 retail locations across North America to supply them with a variety of fresh, branded and private-label grocery items, according to its website.
- Last year, the company signed an eight-year extension of its deal with Amazon-owned Whole Foods to be the health-focused supermarket's primary distributor.
- Past cyberattacks on food distributors have prompted customers to get savvy about how they sell their supplies or how to temporarily pivot to other distributors to keep food on shelves.
- A Whole Foods spokesperson told Axios in an email that the company is "working to restock our shelves as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused for customers."
What's next: United Natural Foods is scheduled to report quarterly earnings tomorrow, with an investor call scheduled before markets open.
