Simply Delicious

What Simply Delicious does

Simply Delicious Inc. is a privately held wholesale food distributor headquartered at Unit #3 235 Ardelt Ave, Kitchener, Ontario. Founded in 1993 by Keith Johnson as a sole proprietorship and incorporated in 2008, the company purchases perishable and frozen food products (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, fish, shellfish, poultry, appetizers, fruits, vegetables, and prepared foods) from a network of major suppliers including Pinty's, Norpac Beef, Trident Seafoods, High Liner Foods, Aquastar, and O'Neil Fisheries, and resells them under its own sub-brands (House Brand, Value Brand, Premium Products, Items of Opportunity, and New Items) to independent grocers across Southwestern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area.

The company's core technology and operational asset is its own low-temperature cold-chain distribution network, offering twice-weekly delivery and pickup options with a $300 minimum order across roughly 30 municipalities. It carries 300+ SKUs in-house, supported by three decades of supplier relationships. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; revenue is generated through product margin on each transaction. The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, with customized product presentation tailored to each independent customer and hundreds of unique packing and labelling options for retail-ready SKUs.

The firm employs 11-50 people and operates without institutional investors, public-company disclosure, or external parent ownership. Marketing is limited primarily to a company website, a phone line, and word-of-mouth reputation. The company raised approximately $17M across three funding rounds in 2017, 2018, and 2019, though investors were not disclosed and no subsequent capital events are evidenced.

Name

Simply Delicious

Legal name

Simply Delicious Inc.

Website

https://simplydeliciousinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Simply Delicious Inc. is a privately held, family-owned wholesale food distributor in Kitchener, Ontario, sourcing proteins, seafood, and prepared foods from major suppliers and reselling them under proprietary sub-brands to independent grocers across Southwestern Ontario via its own cold-chain delivery network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Food Distribution

NAICS

Packaged Frozen Food Merchant Wholesalers (42442), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446), Poultry and Poultry Product Merchant Wholesalers (42444), Other Grocery and Related Products Merchant Wholesalers (42449)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141), Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen Foods Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refrigerated/Chilled Foods Wholesale (Deli, Prepared, Fresh Pasta, etc.) (AFAIAHAB), Frozen Meat, Poultry & Seafood Wholesale (AFAIAHAF), Convenience, Grab-and-Go & Prepared Foods Distribution (CRAOABAL)

Keywords

• Wholesale food distribution
• Specialty protein distribution
• Perishable food supply
• Independent grocer supply
• Retail-ready food products

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Food Distribution: Simply Delicious operates as a wholesale food distributor purchasing products from suppliers and reselling to independent grocers and food service customers. The company carries hundreds of item SKUs in-house sourced from distributors with whom they have built strong relationships over three decades. Revenue is generated through product margin on perishable food items including beef, chicken, pork, lamb, fish, shellfish, prepared foods, fruits, and vegetables.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Simply Delicious is a wholesale specialty food distributor purchasing perishable food products from a curated supplier network and reselling them to independent grocers and food-service customers across Southwestern Ontario. The product portfolio spans fresh and frozen proteins (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, fish, shellfish, seafood/poultry), prepared foods, appetizers, frozen fruits and vegetables, plus retail-ready sub-brand lines (Premium Products, House Brand, Value Brand, Items of Opportunity). Distribution is executed via a proprietary low-temperature cold-chain network with company-operated refrigerated trucks delivering twice weekly on a $300 minimum order, supplemented by direct sales-led customer service.

Product overview

Simply Delicious is a food distribution company offering a comprehensive portfolio of wholesale and retail-ready food products. The core offering spans fresh and frozen proteins (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, fish, seafood/shellfish), prepared foods, appetizers, vegetables, and fruits. The company operates under multiple sub-brands including Premium Products (high-quality specialty items), House Brand (exclusive proprietary products), Value Brand (cost-effective overstock items), and Items of Opportunity (surplus products). Distribution coverage spans Southwestern Ontario with a network of low-temperature delivery services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• House Brand: Products exclusive to the company developed over decades of constant innovations.
• Value Brand

Products and services

• Beef Products Wholesale beef assortment including strip steaks, ribeye steaks, T-bone steaks, tenderloin steaks, ground beef, beef burgers, hot dogs, and meatballs, sold to independent grocers and food-service operators.
• Chicken & Poultry Products Wholesale chicken and poultry assortment including boneless marinated breast, chicken roasts, kabobs, breaded chicken, chicken strips, burgers, stuffed chicken, chicken wings in various flavors, chicken souvlaki, barbecued chicken, and chicken fingers, for independent grocers and food-service operators.
• Pork Products Wholesale pork assortment including bacon, peameal steak, pork chops, baby back ribs, Italian sausage, pork schnitzel, and pork souvlaki, sold to independent grocers.
• Lamb Products Wholesale specialty lamb assortment including marinated lamb steaks, lamb souvlaki, and lamb spadini, sold to independent grocers.
• Shellfish Products Wholesale shellfish assortment including cooked shrimp, raw shell-off and shell-on shrimp, butterfly shrimp, value-added shrimp, shrimp skewers, crab, lobster, scallops, and calamari.
• Fish & Seafood Products Wholesale fish and seafood assortment including salmon, cod, pollock, sole, tilapia, haddock, orange roughy, perch, pickerel, smelts, cod, halibut, mahi mahi, sea bass, snapper, and tuna, available as fillets, loins, portions, and value-added formats.
• Appetizers Wholesale frozen appetizer assortment including mozzarella sticks, cheese curds, mac and cheese bites, dumplings, spring rolls, shrimp rolls, phyllo rolls, sausage rolls, and potato croquettes, for independent grocers and food-service operators.
• Frozen Fruits Wholesale frozen fruit assortment including bananas, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, mango, peaches, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, and various fruit blends and smoothie mixes.
• Frozen Vegetables Wholesale frozen vegetable assortment including beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn, mushrooms, peas, spinach, kale, and various vegetable mixes such as stir fry supreme, fajita mix, and omelette mix.
• Pre-Pared Foods Ready-to-cook wholesale prepared foods including chicken, seafood, beef, lamb, veal, and pork products for independent grocers and food-service operators.
• Premium Products (Retail Ready) High-quality retail-ready specialty products not found in average grocery stores, including unique sizes, flavors, and exotic items, with halal, gluten-free, and vegetarian options, targeted at independent grocers seeking differentiated assortment.
• House Brand Retail Products Exclusive Simply Delicious-developed retail-ready products created over decades of innovation, including house brand BBQ chicken and colossal cooked shrimp, sold to independent grocers as proprietary in-house SKUs.
• Items of Opportunity Surplus and overstock products of exceptional quality offered at discounted prices, including opportunity buys such as chicken wings and buffalo chicken tenders.
• Value Brand Cost-effective retail products sourced from supplier deals, including #2 products that did not meet specifications during production and surplus overstocked items that maintain quality and flavor profiles, offered with savings passed to independent-grocer customers.
• New Items Continuously refreshed assortment of newly added wholesale and retail-ready products including shrimp meal kits (linguine, penne, fettuccini), potato croquettes, value brand teriyaki salmon, battered cod tails, and jalapeno poppers.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• O'Neil FisheriescoreOthersMajor seafood supplier to Simply Delicious. Featured on the Major Suppliers page with website link to oneilfisheries.com. Supplies consistent quality seafood products.
• Pinty'scoreOthersPoultry supplier listed as a major supplier on the company website. Features logo and link to pintys.com for their products.
• NikolaoscoreOthersSupplier partner featured on the Major Suppliers page. Website link provided to nikolaos.ca.
• Norpac BeefcoreOthersBeef supplier listed as a major supplier. Logo and link to norpacbeef.com provided.
• AlaskocoreOthersFood supplier partner featured on Major Suppliers page. Link to alasko.com provided.
• AquastarcoreOthersSeafood supplier partner. Listed with logo and website link to aquastar.com.
• Trident SeafoodscoreOthersMajor seafood supplier. Logo and link to tridentseafoods.com featured on supplier page.
• High Liner FoodscoreOthersSeafood supplier listed as major supplier with website link to highlinerfoods.com.
• DD PoultrycoreOthersPoultry supplier partner. Featured with logo on the Major Suppliers page.
• Dom InternationalcoreOthersSupplier partner listed on the Major Suppliers page with link to dominternational.com.
• JD SweidcoreOthersFood supplier featured on Major Suppliers page. Link to jdsweid.com provided.
• ToppitscoreOthersSupplier partner listed on the Major Suppliers page. Logo and website link to toppits.com.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Flanagan Foodservice: Canadian broadline and specialty food distributor headquartered in Ontario serving independent retailers, foodservice operators, and chain accounts with thousands of SKUs including proteins, produce, and prepared items. Directly comparable business model: regional, relationship-driven, multi-category distribution with low-temperature logistics.
• Halenda's Fine Foods: Ontario-based specialty meat and prepared foods manufacturer/distributor with retail-ready private-label products sold through grocery and specialty channels. Closely comparable product mix (proteins, prepared foods) and similar positioning toward independent retail accounts in Canada.
• Cardinal Meat Specialists: Canadian specialty meat processor and distributor serving retail and foodservice with beef, lamb, veal, and prepared protein products. Comparable protein-centric product portfolio and similar reliance on custom cutting, value-added formats, and specialty positioning vs. broadline competition.

Broad incumbents

• Gordon Food Service Canada: Subsidiary of the North American broadline food distribution giant, operating in Ontario and Western Canada with broad grocery, protein, and specialty assortments serving retail and foodservice. A scaled incumbent offering overlapping categories but competing primarily on breadth and pricing rather than the boutique/specialty focus Simply Delicious pursues.
• Sysco Canada: Canadian arm of Sysco Corp, the largest broadline foodservice distributor in North America, operating from multiple Canadian DCs. Competes for the same independent grocer and food service customers Simply Delicious serves but at vastly greater scale and with full national logistics coverage.
• US Foods Canada (Food Services of America): Major North American broadline food distributor with Canadian presence. Competes for independent retail and restaurant accounts across protein, produce, and specialty categories, though at national scale versus Simply Delicious' regional specialty focus.
• Loblaw Companies / President's Choice: Canada's largest grocery retailer with in-house private-label and distribution. Not a peer in distribution, but the dominant buyer-side counterparty shaping the demand dynamics Simply Delicious' independent grocer customers compete against — relevant for understanding the competitive backdrop.

Emerging players

• Beretta Farms: Ontario-based specialty protein brand offering organic/natural beef, poultry, and prepared items through retail and direct-to-consumer channels. Partial overlap with Simply Delicious' premium/specialty positioning and growing brand-led protein distribution model.

Regional players

• Puresource Natural Foods: Canadian distributor of natural, organic, and specialty foods primarily to Atlantic Canada retailers and foodservice. Comparable in role as a specialty-focused regional distributor serving independent grocers with premium SKUs, though operating in a non-overlapping geography.

Others

• High Liner Foods: North American frozen seafood processor and brand owner listed among Simply Delicious' major suppliers. Comparable in product category (frozen/prepared seafood) though operating on the manufacturer/brand-owner side of the supply chain rather than as a distributor to grocers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Simply Delicious