Bob Garibaldi

For Bob Garibaldi, lifelong career success comes down to enjoying his work and maintaining a strong team mindset.

Garibaldi has dedicated his career to the wholesale grocery industry, climbing the ranks and remaining with the same couple of companies through mergers and acquisitions. Now he is President of the Pacific Division of United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), a wholesale food distributor that has grown into what it is today through a handful of mergers.

For the last four years, Garibaldi, who resides in Northern California with his wife Rachelle of 30 years, has been with UNFI, and prior to that he worked for SUPERVALU and Unified Grocers for over three decades.

Work Ethic At An Early Age

Before trying his hand at a job in the grocery space, Garibaldi began his career after college with his dad’s business—a Coors distributorship where Garibaldi worked for two years. During that time, he realized he wanted to sharpen his skills outside the walls of the family operation.

“I left to learn, go outside and work for a co-op, Certified Grocers, and bring some experience back to the family business,” Garibaldi says. “But I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t want to leave. The career path was happening fast on the Certified Grocers side, so I just decided to stay.”

Garibaldi credits his work ethic to his background in family business. Even before he worked in the beer business, he got his feet wet at the young age of eight in the food and candy distribution business that his grandfather owned.

“Learning how to work and taking pride in what you do every single day, that’s a great trait to learn as a young person,” Garibaldi says. “To this day I think it’s the single most important thing that has ever happened to me.”

He says his grandfather always told him that if he worked hard and went to get an education, he could get anywhere he wanted to go.

Garibaldi continued to build on those lessons and kept that advice close to heart as he entered college at UCLA, where he attended school on a football scholarship to play wide receiver. He played in three Rose Bowls, a Fiesta Bowl and a Holiday Bowl.

“What I learned in athletics and competing every single day just set me up for what was to come in the real world, where you compete every day,” he says.

Garibaldi notes that learning how to work in the structure of a team toward one goal and remaining competitive has propelled him throughout his career.

In his current role, Garibaldi is responsible for nine distribution centers in the Western U.S. that serve around 6,000 retail grocery stores. That service area generates about $8 billion in purchases annually and is one of the largest divisions in the company— and is still growing.

His humble but competitive nature is well-known among colleagues and customers. Tod Marks, vice president of sales for Southern California at UNFI, works closely with Garibaldi and says that his ambitious edge comes from his football years at UCLA.

“He’s very competitive, but also very humble. He’s not one of those individuals who brags or beats their chest,” Marks says.

Garibaldi has made great strides over his 35-year career. He spent roughly 22 years at Certified Grocers, which eventually changed its name to Unified Grocers after acquisitions. Several more mergers occurred, and then SUPERVALU purchased Unified Grocers. For a couple years Garibaldi stayed at SUPERVALU and then moved on to UNFI—which eventually acquired SUPERVALU.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE

When it comes down to it, the people are perhaps the best part of the job. Throughout his career, Garibaldi has worked primarily with independent, family-owned retailers—usually with about 10 stores or less but some that have grown well beyond that.

He says he loves working as a distributor with independent grocers, and he especially admires how they put everything on the line for their businesses. In Garibaldi’s mind, UNFI and its customers are partners, playing an integral role in one another’s success.

“They open their doors to us, the family, and they let us inside,” he says. “We are part of the decision-making process, we are part of the failures, the successes, the arguments…we are intimately involved in all of that because it’s such a hands-on business.”

Garibaldi has developed a positive reputation over the years especially because of his relationships with independents. Those in the industry, including Fong, know Garibaldi best because of it.

“You talk to any independent grocer, they know Bob. He is very close to his customers, even now, even though he’s president of a much different company,” he says. “He is revered by his independent customers from way back in the day when he was working as a sales rep.”

One of those customers is fellow Hall of Achievement Honoree Mimi Song, owner and chairman of Superior Grocers. Fong explains that each year, the CGA Educational Foundation Board selects its retailer honoree first, and then asks them to offer names to consider

“It was full circle for me,” he says.

CGA President & CEO Ron Fong notes that Garibaldi’s tenure with the companies he’s worked for speaks to who he is as a person and as a professional—and it’s a unique story in the industry, especially in today’s world where people change jobs more frequently.

“It’s rare to find someone who starts with one company and stays with them over a long span of time,” Fong says. “That really speaks to his loyalty.” to be honored alongside them. Song recommended Garibaldi, whom she worked with through Certified Grocers many years ago, and to this day continues to work with at UNFI because of their connection—which is no easy feat in today’s competitive market.

Garibaldi says the last merger, when UNFI bought SUPERVALU, was one of the biggest shifts he’s gone through professionally and gave the company, and him, a tremendous competitive advantage. Through that merger, UNFI has become a wholesaler with natural, fresh foods and conventional foods, which Garibaldi says doesn’t exist anywhere else in the market today.

“Quite frankly, being President of the West Coast is probably the pinnacle of what I could accomplish, and I’ll be able to work for the next few years until I retire in that role and in my mind, go out on top,” Garibaldi says.

“Mimi chose Bob, and I think that tells the whole story,” Fong says. Garibaldi says witnessing the spirit, drive and enthusiasm of these retailers is rewarding, especially as they work nonstop day in and day out.

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Another partner who has worked closely with Garibaldi over the years is Bay Area grocer Mollie Stone’s. General Manager Elliot Stone says he has known Garibaldi for as long as he can remember and is a well-known leader in the industry.

“He is a leader, supporter, innovator and a true friend,” Stone says. “His commitment to the industry and making everyone around him better makes him one of a kind.”

Marks echoed the sentiment of Garibaldi’s work with independent retailers, noting Garibaldi’s commitment to doing the right thing for his customers, no matter what.

“Bob is always willing to jump in, probably more than he should, to help,” he says. “If something has happened with a retailer or someone is struggling, he will jump in. The customers just love him because they know he’ll do the right thing for them,” Marks says.

To Garibaldi, it’s all in a day’s work.

“They become your partners, your best friends, and it’s super rewarding,” he says.

Never A Dull Day

Garibaldi also attributes his long tenure in the business to the variety that each day offers. From the beginning, he found that every day was unique, whether selling products or services or equipment.

“It was different every single day and I thought that was super exciting, and I loved what I did,” he says.

The industry has changed over time, and that keeps it exciting but also keeps Garibaldi and his team on their toes. He says the landscape today for wholesalers is much different than it used to be. When he first started out, there were four wholesalers on the West Coast. Now there are essentially two, but there has been a heavy amount of consolidation over the years.

Today, things change even quicker than they used to, and businesses are always accelerating and advancing.

“If you’re not reacting instantly or very quickly, then you’re falling behind,” Garibaldi says. “There’s a need to continually improve your company and the services or the products that you have because there’s so much competition outside the traditional role, whether it be online or technology companies that are getting into the food industry.”

The influx of technology has never happened at this pace and is threatening the traditional wholesale business. But Garibaldi is focused and says consistent improvement is imperative.

“Otherwise, you’ll be one of those companies that doesn’t exist anymore.

With Garibaldi’s track record and competitive edge, UNFI appears to be in good hands as the company looks to the future. Garibaldi’s division makes up roughly 30 percent of the company’s revenue, and it is still growing.

The years have been good to Garibaldi, and he’s made it a point to give back when he can. He participated on the retail board of the California Independent Grocers Association before it merged with CGA, and supported committees that raised money for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. He has also supported efforts to raise money for cancer treatment and research center City of Hope.

Through all the work, volunteering and change, Garibaldi has made lifelong friends.

“It’s been a great experience, it’s been wonderful to me,” he says. “That’s the best part of the industry. You meet so many great people and become friends for life.” ■