Whole Foods Faces Product Shortages After Cyberattack on UNFI
Whole Foods is bracing for potential product shortages following a cybersecurity incident at its primary distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI). The Amazon-owned grocery chain alerted its employees that the ongoing outages and disruptions at UNFI could take “several days to resolve,” impacting normal delivery schedules and product availability.
In an internal communication obtained by TechCrunch, Whole Foods informed staff about a “nationwide technology system outage” at UNFI, which UNFI has confirmed as a cybersecurity incident. This attack is disrupting UNFI’s “ability to select and ship products from their warehouses,” potentially leading to empty shelves and delayed deliveries for Whole Foods customers.
To manage customer inquiries, Whole Foods has provided its employees with a single, approved talking point: the company is experiencing “temporary supply challenges.” This suggests the retailer is attempting to minimize alarm while addressing the issue.
Whole Foods spokesperson Nathan Cimbala acknowledged the disruption, stating, “We are working to restock our shelves as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused for customers.” However, neither Whole Foods nor UNFI has provided a specific timeline for full recovery.
UNFI, a major food distributor in North America, serves over 30,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada. The company disclosed the cyberattack earlier this week, revealing that it took its entire network offline on Friday upon detecting the intrusion. Despite the disruption, UNFI reported $8.1 billion in net sales for the quarter ending May 3, 2025.
Reports of empty shelves at some Whole Foods and other UNFI-reliant grocery stores have already surfaced. One Whole Foods location displayed notices about a “temporary out of stock issue” in several aisles.
The full extent of the impact on grocery stores and consumers remains to be seen, with potential disruptions expected to continue throughout the week.
