Sligro Food

Sligro Food was founded in 1935 in the Netherlands. The company first operated as a wholesaler of margarine and oil but quickly started to diversify its activities. In 1961, Sligro Food launched the first Sligro self-service which now consists of 50 stores.

Sligro is today known as a wholesaler which distributes to various food service in the HoReCa sector. The firm operates in the Netherlands but also in Belgium. 

Sligro offers around 75000 references.

In 2018, the company achieved a turnover of € 2.35 billion and employs 2900 people.

In 1989, Sligro Food was listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. 

In 1992, the company acquired Wunderick, a catering delivery wholesaler and Van Hoeckel in 1996. 

In 2001, the company took over Prisma Food Retail, a chain of over 300 supermarkets and in 2002, acquired another chain, EMTE Supermarket and 2004, the foodservice wholesaler, VEN. 

In 2006, Sligro acquired Edah stores out of which 38 were converted into EMTE stores. By 2012, took over Van Oers. 

In 2014, the business took over Rooswinkel Horeca and in early 2016, the firm acquired JAVA Foodservice which is a catering company based in Belgium. A year later, the business acquired another Belgian business, ISPC, a wholesaler. 2017 also marks the beginning of a 15 year collaboration with Heineken, concerning the provision of logistics services for the latter’s products like beer and cider. 

In 2018, Sligro Food sold EMTE to the Jumbo and Coop consortium in order to focus solely on the food service industry. 

Sligro Food’s aim is now to expand the delivery network in the Netherlands and develop the business in Belgium as well. 

Sligro Food manages its own distribution centre which helps to maintain the logistics services of the group. The business has invested in improving the data management system which is now centralized. 

Sligro Food is currently working on a new banner, Sligro 3.0 with the aim of introducing the cash-and-carry for the future. The concept has been tested in 21 stores and has received positive feedback from customers so far. The aim of the new concept is to reduce stock levels and costs.