S. Abraham & Sons
S. Abraham & Sons is a Midwest wholesale food distributor founded in 1927, supplying snacks, candy, frozen food, and grocery products to convenience stores and other retailers across 10 states, operating as a division of Imperial Trading Company.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1927
- HeadquartersGrand Rapids, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What S. Abraham & Sons does
S. Abraham & Sons (SAS) is a wholesale food distributor founded in 1927 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and operating since June 29, 2018 as a division of Imperial Trading Company (New Orleans, Louisiana). The company distributes snacks, candy, frozen food, grocery, and foodservice products—over 12,000 SKUs in total—to convenience stores (the primary customer segment), along with drug stores, grocery stores, and campus/university stores. With 500+ employees and two distribution centers (Grand Rapids, MI and Indianapolis, IN), SAS covers 10 states directly (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin) and, together with its Imperial Trading parent, 19 states stretching from the Canadian Border to the Gulf of Mexico.
Revenue is generated principally through wholesale product distribution—markup on goods sold to retailers—with complementary streams in award-winning category management and merchandising services (planogram design, space-to-sales analysis, site consultations) and turn-key branded food programs (Champs Chicken, Cooper's Express, Pep's Pizza, BluTaco). The proprietary Fruit Ridge Farms commissary supplies fresh, never-frozen sandwiches, salads, and related items. A vendor consolidation value proposition positions SAS as a single-source replacement for multiple DSD vendors. Go-to-market is sales-led via regional VPs and dedicated District Managers covering each territory, with pricing set on a quote basis through sales representatives (volume discounts, monthly promotional planners).
The technology ecosystem centers on retailer workflow tools: NEXGEN handheld ordering devices, SYNERGY (invoice retrieval, retail price changes, item maintenance), ZiiZii Android-based ordering with scan-to-order capabilities, DRTrack real-time warehouse-to-store delivery tracking, TooSmart BI, and OnBase invoice access. EDI capabilities have been offered since 1989 across more than 20 formats compliant with NACS convenience-store standards. Recurring trade programs include Pacesetters (new-product introduction), Awesome Achievers (a 21-week vendor incentive trip), and a long-running annual Vendor Exhibit & Trade Show (40th edition in 2026, 41st planned for 2027 celebrating SAS's centennial).
S. Abraham & Sons firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- S. Abraham & Sons
- Legal name
- S. Abraham and Sons, Inc.
- Website
- https://sasinc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1927
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- S. Abraham & Sons is a Midwest wholesale food distributor founded in 1927, supplying snacks, candy, frozen food, and grocery products to convenience stores and other retailers across 10 states, operating as a division of Imperial Trading Company.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
S. Abraham & Sons industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wholesale Food and Foodservice Distribution
- NAICS
- Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers (4244), Other Grocery and Related Products Merchant Wholesalers (42449)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty & Gourmet Foods Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Specialty & Gourmet Foods Distribution (CRAOABAF), Bakery Foodservice Supply Wholesale (Bulk/Institutional) (AFAIAFAJ)
Keywords
Where S. Abraham & Sons is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Grand Rapids
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
S. Abraham & Sons business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Wholesale Product Distribution: SAS generates revenue as a broad-line wholesale distributor selling grocery and foodservice products to convenience stores, drug stores, grocery stores, and campus retail locations. Revenue comes from the markup on products sold to retailers, with vendor consolidation programs helping eliminate DSD (Direct Store Delivery) vendors.
- Category Management Services: Award-winning category management and merchandising services including planogram development, site consultations, and space-to-sales analysis provided to retail customers.
- Branded Program Management: Turn-key branded programs for convenience stores including fried chicken (Champs Chicken, Cooper's Express), pizza (Pep's Pizza), and fresh Mexican (BluTaco), providing comprehensive training and field support.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Wholesale distribution pricing through sales representatives |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
S. Abraham & Sons product offering
Product offeringCore offering
S. Abraham & Sons is a broad-line wholesale distributor that sells more than 12,000 grocery, snack, candy, frozen food, beverage, fresh food, and foodservice products to convenience stores and other retailers across the Midwest. The company combines its core wholesale product distribution with proprietary fresh-food commissary programs under its Fruit Ridge Farms brand, turn-key branded foodservice programs (Champs Chicken, Cooper's Express, Pep's Pizza, BluTaco), award-winning category management and merchandising services, and a proprietary technology suite (SYNERGY, ZiiZii, OnBase, TooSmart/DRTrack, EDI) that supports retailer ordering, inventory tracking, and reporting.
Product overview
S. Abraham & Sons is a wholesale food distributor specializing in grocery and foodservice solutions for convenience stores and campus retail locations throughout the Midwest. The company offers over 12,000 products through a combination of branded food programs (hot beverages, cold beverages, fresh, dayparts, snacks) and proprietary Fruit Ridge Farms products. The technology portfolio includes SYNERGY (customer portal for invoice retrieval and item maintenance), ZiiZii Handheld Ordering (Android-based ordering ecosystem), OnBase (invoice access), TooSmart Business Intelligence, DRTrack (real-time delivery tracking), and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) supporting over 20 formats since 1989. The company also provides award-winning category management and merchandising services, including planogram customization and site consultations. SAS operates as a division of Imperial Trading Company with distribution centers in Grand Rapids, MI and Indianapolis, IN.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Fruit Ridge Farms: Proprietary brand consisting of salads, sandwiches, fresh cut veggie cups, meat sticks, entree items, breakfast sandwiches, and fudge
- GOGO Grill
- Flavor Mill
- Signature Selects
Products and services
- Wholesale Grocery and Foodservice Distribution Broad-line wholesale distribution of more than 12,000 grocery, snack, candy, frozen food, beverage, fresh food, and foodservice products to convenience stores, drug stores, grocery stores, and campus retail locations across the Midwest.
- Branded Restaurant Programs (Champs Chicken, Cooper's Express, Pep's Pizza, BluTaco) Turn-key branded foodservice programs for convenience stores offering fried chicken (Champs Chicken, Cooper's Express), pizza (Pep's Pizza), and fresh Mexican food (BluTaco), including comprehensive training and field support.
- Category Management and Merchandising Services Award-winning category management and merchandising services including best practice planograms, custom planogram design, site consultations, TRUE Space to Sales analysis, and heat-map visualizations for category performance in convenience retail.
- Fruit Ridge Farms Proprietary Fresh Commissary Brand Proprietary fresh-food brand produced at the SAS commissary, offering salads, sandwiches, fresh cut veggie cups, meat sticks, entree items, breakfast sandwiches, and fudge, plus Signature Selects gourmet subs and wedges, distributed to convenience retailers.
- SAS SYNERGY Customer Portal Customer-facing web portal providing online access to invoice document retrieval, retail price changes, item maintenance, and SAS communication for retail customers.
- ZiiZii Handheld Ordering Ecosystem Order management software ecosystem running on Android-based handheld devices that enables retailers to order, manage inventory, track purchase history, view promotions, scan UPCs (case or item), view item descriptions/pricing/last order quantity, receive discontinued/substitute item notifications, generate shelf tags and order books, perform quick invoice check-ins, and review delivery history.
- TooSmart Business Intelligence Reporting Business intelligence reporting tool that monitors estimated arrival and departure of items from the warehouse to the store, updated in real time, giving retailers visibility into inbound delivery status.
- OnBase Invoice Access Platform Online document management platform enabling retailer customers to retrieve and manage invoice documents from SAS.
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Services Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) service supporting over 20 different electronic formats for transaction documents with customers, aligned with NACS industry standards for the convenience store industry since 1989.
- GOGO Grill Roller Grill Program Proprietary GOGO Grill roller grill program offering hot foodservice items to convenience retailers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 500 employees and 2 distribution centers serving 19 states
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use S. Abraham & Sons
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
S. Abraham & Sons technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
S. Abraham & Sons partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- American Dunes Golf ClubminorSAS partners with American Dunes Golf Club for the annual Awesome Achievers Program kickoff event. American Dunes Golf Club is a Jack Nicklaus-designed course. The partnership raises awareness and funds for Folds of Honor, supporting families of fallen and disabled veterans.
- Folds of HonorminorSAS supports Folds of Honor through the Awesome Achievers Program golf outing. Folds of Honor provides scholarships to families of fallen and disabled U.S. military service members and first responders.
- Imperial Trading CompanycoreSAS merged with Imperial Trading Company on June 29, 2018. Imperial Trading Company is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. Together SAS and Imperial Trading Company service 19 states stretching from the Canadian Border to the Gulf of Mexico. SAS operates as a division of Imperial Trading Company.
- Revolution FarmsminorSAS sources locally grown lettuce from Revolution Farms for fresh salads prepared at the Fruit Ridge Farms commissary program.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
S. Abraham & Sons competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- H.T. Hackney Co.
- Eby-Brown:
- Imperial Trading Company: Imperial Trading Company is the parent of SAS following the 2018 merger and operates as a direct peer and parent c-store distributor, servicing the Gulf Coast and Southern U.S. with similar product mixes (snacks, candy, beverages, fresh). The combination creates an internal comparable for SAS's business model across geographies.
- McLane Company: McLane is a Berkshire Hathaway-owned wholesale distributor serving convenience stores, grocery stores, and restaurants nationwide. It is a direct peer to SAS, providing broadline food and beverage distribution to the same SMB convenience store customer base but with significantly greater national scale, purchasing power, and technology investments.
- Core-Mark International: Core-Mark is one of the largest convenience store wholesale distributors in North America (now part of Performance Food Group). It is a direct peer to SAS, serving c-stores with broad-line food, beverage, and tobacco distribution, and competing head-to-head for chain and independent c-store customers across overlapping Midwest geographies.
Broad incumbents
- Reyes Holdings: Reyes Holdings is a private, family-owned distribution and foodservice company (Martin-Brower, McLane, Reinhart, etc.) that distributes to c-stores, QSRs, and grocery retailers nationwide. It is a broad incumbent peer to SAS, controlling significant c-store distribution infrastructure (including McLane) that competes for the same customer base with national scale.
- SpartanNash: SpartanNash is a large, public food distributor and grocery retailer serving military commissaries, independent grocers, and c-stores across the U.S. It is a broad incumbent peer to SAS, offering broader grocery, fresh, and foodservice distribution at national scale with a public market valuation that benchmarks regional distributor multiples.
- Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG): AWG is the largest cooperative food wholesaler in the U.S., serving independent grocers and c-stores across 28 states with full-line grocery, fresh, and private label products. It is a broad incumbent peer to SAS, providing similar broadline distribution services to independent retailers but at a much larger cooperative scale.
- Performance Food Group: Performance Food Group is a Fortune 100 food distributor that acquired Core-Mark in 2021, becoming the largest c-store distributor in North America. It is a broad incumbent peer to SAS, representing the consolidated national-scale competition that regional c-store distributors like SAS face, with vastly greater purchasing power, technology, and M&A capacity.
Regional players
- Ben E. Keith Foods: Ben E. Keith Foods is a regional broadline food distributor serving the Southwest and South Central U.S. with a focus on independent restaurants, c-stores, and foodservice operators. It is a regional peer to SAS, sharing the broadline distribution model and SMB customer focus but operating in non-overlapping geographic territories.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
S. Abraham & Sons social profiles
Digital presenceS. Abraham & Sons financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
S. Abraham & Sons leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
S. Abraham & Sons funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
S. Abraham & Sons M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about S. Abraham & Sons
What does S. Abraham & Sons do?
S. Abraham & Sons is a broad-line wholesale distributor that sells more than 12,000 grocery, snack, candy, frozen food, beverage, fresh food, and foodservice products to convenience stores and other retailers across the Midwest. The company combines its core wholesale product distribution with proprietary fresh-food commissary programs under its Fruit Ridge Farms brand, turn-key branded foodservice programs (Champs Chicken, Cooper's Express, Pep's Pizza, BluTaco), award-winning category management and merchandising services, and a proprietary technology suite (SYNERGY, ZiiZii, OnBase, TooSmart/DRTrack, EDI) that supports retailer ordering, inventory tracking, and reporting.
Is S. Abraham & Sons a public or private company?
S. Abraham & Sons is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was S. Abraham & Sons founded?
S. Abraham & Sons was founded in 1927. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is S. Abraham & Sons based?
S. Abraham & Sons is headquartered in Grand Rapids, United States, in the North America region.
How does S. Abraham & Sons make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Wholesale Product Distribution is the primary driver. The others are category Management Services and branded Program Management.
Who are S. Abraham & Sons's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are H.T. Hackney Co., Eby-Brown, Imperial Trading Company, McLane Company and Core-Mark International. Broad incumbents are Reyes Holdings, SpartanNash, Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) and Performance Food Group. Ben E. Keith Foods is listed as a regional player.
Does S. Abraham & Sons have an API?
No public API is recorded for S. Abraham & Sons.
What industry is S. Abraham & Sons in?
S. Abraham & Sons's product category is Wholesale Food and Foodservice Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAOAAAI, Specialty & Gourmet Foods Wholesale Distribution, with a secondary code of CRAOABAF, Specialty & Gourmet Foods Distribution. Its NAICS code is 4244 and its SIC code is 5140.