Kokubu & Co. is the shogun of Japan's wholesale food industry. As the largest distributor in the country, it supplies customers with more than 400,000 food items, beverages, and other products. An importer and exporter of foods and alcoholic beverages, Kokubu has warehouses throughout Japan. It owns a majority share of Mitsui & Co.'s grocery and liquor wholesale operations in the Hokkaido region and has a confectionery wholesaling joint venture with Japanese candy company Momose. Kokubu, which also has operations in real estate leasing and breadcrumb manufacturing, is buying an ice cream wholesaler. Founder Kanbei Kokubu started the firm in 1712 as a soy sauce brewery; it is still owned by the Kokubu family.

Nadro, formerly Nacional de Drogas, is a top distributor (along with Grupo Casa Saba) of pharmaceuticals and hygiene and beauty products throughout Mexico. From deodorant to body spray, the company peddles its wares through more than a dozen distribution centers to about a quarter of the Mexican market, including thousands of pharmacies and some of Mexico's largest other retailers such as Wal-Mart de Mexico, Organizacion Soriana, and Grupo Gigante. Nadro also contracts to provide specialty pharmaceuticals to Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Mexico's state-owned oil company. McKesson, a distributor of pharmaceuticals and health care products in the US, owns about half of Nadro.

Affiliated Foods Midwest Cooperative is a wholesale food distribution cooperative that supplies more than 800 independent grocers in some 15 Midwestern states. From its handful of distribution centers in Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, the co-op distributes fresh produce, meats, deli items, baked goods, dairy products, and frozen foods, as well as general merchandise and equipment. It distributes goods under the Shurfine brand (from Topco Associates) and IGA labels. Additionally, Affiliated Foods Midwest provides marketing, merchandising, and warehousing support services for its members. The cooperative was formed in 1931 to make wholesale purchases for a group of retailers in Nebraska.

Tripifoods Inc.,the convenience store supplier distributes a full line of groceries, tobacco products, frozen and microwavable foods, hot and cold drinks, health and beauty care products, office supplies, motor oil, and other consumer items to stores in 18 Northeastern and Midwestern US states. Tripifoods also offers store operators support services such as merchandising ideas, promotional materials, group insurance, and financing programs. The fourth generation of the Tripi family runs the company, which was founded in 1911.

The H. T. Hackney Company is a leading wholesale distributor of food products and other retail items serving more than 20,000 convenience stores, drug stores, travel centers, and independent grocers in more than 20 states (mostly east of the Mississippi). The company supplies more than 30,000 items, including frozen food, baked goods, candy, snacks, tobacco products, health and beauty items, and deli products. In addition, it owns bottled water producer Natural Springs Water Group, and the company is involved in furniture manufacturing through subsidiary Holland House Furniture. Founded in 1891, H. T. Hackney is owned by chairman and CEO Bill Sansom.

Cronin Ice Cream is a leading distributor of frozen treats that serves retail stores and foodservice operators in New England. It supplies a wide variety of ice cream and other dessert products such as frozen yogurt, sherbet, and sorbet. It handles such brands as Ben & Jerry's, Haagen Daaz, and Klondike, as well as specialty treats and Kosher desserts. In addition, Cronin Ice Cream supplies freezers for catered events. The family-owned business was founded in 1963.

Independent natural gas producers looking for a good return on their investment need search no further than Enserco Energy, which purchases natural gas from wholesale producers and then trades the energy on the wholesale market. It provides procurement, storage, transportation, and operations management services. It has access to more than 260 billion Btu/day of interstate pipeline capacity and storage in excess of 7 billion cu. ft. Denver-based Enserco, which sees itself as the "marketing arm down the hall" for the independent producer, is a subsidiary of the Black Hills Corporation and operates primarily in the western US. Enserco Energy, Inc. conducts business annually with more than 600 energy firms.

Walton & Post is a wholesale distributor of food and related products that serves retail and wholesale customers. The company supplies such products as canned and packaged goods, fresh fruit and produce, and ethnic food items, as well as candies, chocolates, health and beauty products, and paper goods. It primarily serves customers in the southeastern US. Part of Miami-based Garrido Group, Walton & Post is one of several distribution businesses owned by the Garrido family.

Kato Sangyo is a leading Japanese distributor of foodstuffs. Founded in 1947, the Tokyo exchange-listed company distributes processed food products primarily in the Kansai region and is expanding its sales force in the areas of Kanto and Tohoku. Its product offerings include milk, soft drinks, beer wine, fresh produce, pasta, cereal products, confectionery, jam, honey, frozen foods, and seafood products. Kato Sangyo operates via about a dozen subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Japan, including insurance, property leasing, and franchised restaurant operations.

Associated Grocers of the South is a grocery wholesale cooperative serving more than 300 independently-owned supermarkets in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. In addition to supplying more than 16,000 products under the Shurfine brand (from Topco Associates) and other labels, the cooperative provides its members with accounting, advertising, merchandising and other support services. Associated Grocers of the South was formed in Birmingham, Alabama, by a group of a dozen neighborhood stores in 1927.

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