Wholesale food distributors are licensed to supply food items to retailers and large institutional clients. The food items in food wholesaling include groceries, packaged frozen food, fish and seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and meat products, dairy products that include butter, cheese, cream and ice cream, confectionary which include candy, potato chips, nuts and chewing gum. Most of the time, food is purchased and sold without any further processing. However, sometimes basic cutting, peeling and packaging processes are handled by wholesale distributors. Food wholesale distributors work from a warehouse or a business office because they do not entertain walk in clients and there is no need to display the food items.

Food wholesalers can be merchant wholesalers who are primarily engaged in buying and selling groceries and grocery products. They can be specialty wholesalers who are engaged in the wholesale distribution of food items such as frozen foods, poultry products and dairy products. There are also miscellaneous wholesalers who are referred to as systems distributors specializing in food items like coffee, tea and spices. The other types of wholesalers are brokers who merely act as representatives and get a commission. They do not physically handle products. Apart from these types of wholesalers, there are also warehouse clubs where a retailer can visit and purchase products in bulk at wholesale prices.

Food, being a perishable item, needs to be handled carefully and food distributors have to ensure quick turnaround of inventory. The warehouse infrastructure requirement for food wholesaling and distribution is based on the type of products stored. For example, food products like canned fish and ice cream require deep freezing equipment. Wholesale merchants maintain close relationships with their clients. The growth in wholesale food industry is tremendous and the outlook is promising. As long as the demand for processed, packaged and frozen food exists, the wholesale industry will be there to warehouse it, finance it and deliver it to retail and institutional clients.