Cioffi's

What Cioffi's does

Cioffi's Group is a family-owned Italian specialty food retailer operating from Burnaby, British Columbia, since 1990. Founded by Antonio Cioffi (who emigrated from Avellino, Italy in 1968) and his son Rino, the business is now co-managed by second-generation owners Rino and Sergio Cioffi. The company serves thousands of Metro Vancouver families weekly and supplies named Vancouver restaurants and chefs through a dedicated wholesale division, with selected accounts documented (e.g., Steamworks Brewing Co.). Its offerings span Italian deli, full-service butcher, Italian and European grocery, prepared meals, catering, gift baskets, and cooking classes, all sourced under a single integrated group structure.

The core operating model is a multi-format, multi-channel specialty food business. Retail is concentrated across three adjacent storefronts on Hastings Street in Burnaby — the Deli (4156 Hastings), Meat Market (4142 Hastings), and Cucina (4150 Hastings) — supplemented by a wholesale warehouse and distribution center at Thunderbird Crescent. Product mix is curated and proprietary-leaning: over 250 cheeses, over 200 deli meats, house-made Italian sausages built on 25+ year recipes, a 48-day dry-aging beef program, and fresh burrata flown in weekly from Italy. Revenue is generated through six streams: in-store retail, restaurant wholesale, full-service catering, cooking classes ($150 per person), gift baskets ($75-$150 tiers), and prepared-meal takeout and delivery via SkipTheDishes. All transactions are essentially pay-as-you-go unit purchases with no subscription or contracted-SaaS model.

The customer base is split between individual consumers/families, foodservice buyers (restaurants and chefs across Vancouver and the Lower Mainland), and event catering customers. The business has no disclosed outside funding, no parent company, and operates as a privately held, family-controlled enterprise. Marketing relies on a content blog, organic social media, marketplace presence (SkipTheDishes), and word-of-mouth driven by 25+ years of local reputation. The business is functionally a traditional specialty food retailer with limited digital infrastructure beyond third-party commerce and delivery integrations.

Name

Cioffi's

Legal name

Cioffi's Group

Website

https://cioffisgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cioffi's is a family-owned Italian specialty food retailer and wholesaler in Burnaby, BC, operating since 1990. It serves Metro Vancouver families, restaurants, and event hosts through an integrated Deli, Meat Market, Cucina, grocery, wholesale, catering, gift basket, and cooking class offering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Italian Foods Retail

NAICS

All Other Specialty Food Retailers (445298), Meat Retailers (44524)

SIC

Retail-Food Stores (5400), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Prepared Foods & Catering-Focused Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Delis & Sandwich Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAF), Fresh Food Retail Counters (In-Store Butcher/Fish/Produce Counters) (CRAHAHAH), Deli Meats & Luncheon Meats (Sliced/Portioned Cold Cuts) (AFANAEAD)

Keywords

• Italian specialty foods
• Italian butcher shop
• Deli meats and cheeses
• Prepared Italian meals
• Gourmet gift baskets

Headquarters

HQ city

Burnaby

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Food Sales: Core retail operations including fresh meats, deli meats, cheeses, grocery items, prepared foods, and specialty Italian products sold directly to consumers in-store.
2. Wholesale to Restaurants: Supplies high quality Italian and European foods to restaurants and chefs throughout Vancouver and Lower Mainland. Shop where the chefs shop tagline emphasizes B2B food service relationships.
3. Catering Services: Award-winning catering service for parties, funerals, graduations, birthdays, corporate events. Full-service catering with staff, delivery, and custom menus. Best Caterer for 7 consecutive years.
4. Cooking Classes: Italian cooking classes taught by guest chefs. Classes include hands-on instruction, gourmet meal, and beverages. $150 per person.
5. Gift Baskets: Gourmet gift baskets in various sizes from $75 to $150, suitable for birthdays, Christmas, corporate gifting, and special occasions.
6. Cucina Takeout and Delivery: Italian prepared meals, panini, and hot foods available for pickup or delivery via SkipTheDishes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cioffi's is a family-owned Italian specialty food retailer in Burnaby, BC, operating three connected storefronts: an Italian deli (250+ cheeses, 200+ deli meats), a full-service butcher shop (dry-aged beef, Wagyu, Kobe, house-made sausages), and the Cucina prepared-meals kitchen. The business also runs a wholesale division supplying top Vancouver restaurants, full-service catering, gourmet gift baskets, and guest-chef cooking classes.

Product overview

Cioffi's is an Italian meat market, deli, and grocery store operating as a unified retail operation in Burnaby, BC. The business consists of five interconnected departments: the core Deli (offering over 200 cheeses and 200 deli meats), Meat Market (full-service butcher shop with premium and housemade sausages), Grocery (Italian and European specialty foods), Cucina (prepared meals and takeout kitchen), and supporting services including Catering, Wholesale, Gift Baskets, and Cooking Classes. The Deli and Meat Market supply ingredients to the Cucina, creating an integrated farm-to-table Italian food experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cioffi's Deli Italian and European deli offering over 250 types of cheeses, over 200 deli meats, olives, antipasti, olive oils, vinegars, and jarred goods. Serves Metro Vancouver families and supplies wholesale customers.
• Cioffi's Meat Market Full-service butcher shop offering premium meats including organic grass-fed beef, Canada AAA Prime, Kobe, Wagyu, dry-aged beef (up to 48 days), free-range and organic chicken, BC pork, lamb, veal, game meats, seafood, and house-made Italian sausages.
• Cioffi's Grocery

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SkipTheDishescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSkipTheDishes is a food delivery marketplace partnership enabling Cioffi's Cucina to offer convenient home delivery of prepared Italian meals to customers across the Greater Vancouver area.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Whole Foods Market: Large-scale premium and natural foods grocer. Competes for the same premium Italian/European specialty basket in the Vancouver market with broader assortment and stronger digital and delivery infrastructure.
• Longo's: Canadian family-owned specialty grocer with strong Italian heritage roots and multi-store footprint across Ontario. Comparable as a family-led specialty food retailer with prepared foods, butchery, and premium assortment positioning at larger scale.
• Eataly: Global Italian marketplace concept combining retail, foodservice, and education. Comparable breadth of Italian assortment and prepared-food/catering-style operations, though at materially larger scale and as a multi-region incumbent.

Emerging players

• The Healthy Butcher: Canadian specialty butcher focused on organic, free-range, and ethically sourced meats. Comparable specialty meat retail positioning and premium sourcing, with overlapping wholesale-to-restaurant relationships.

Direct peers

• De Luca Specialty Foods: Western Canadian Italian and European specialty foods distributor supplying restaurants and retailers. Comparable B2B wholesale model for Italian specialty products into foodservice channels across Western Canada.
• Bosa Foods: Vancouver-based Italian specialty foods distributor and retailer serving restaurants and consumers. Directly comparable as another BC-rooted Italian specialty operation with wholesale and retail channels supplying the Vancouver food scene.

Regional players

• Pusateri's: Toronto-based premium Italian specialty grocer with butcher, deli, prepared foods, and catering. Comparable product mix (Italian specialty, butcher counter, prepared meals, catering) but operates primarily in Ontario, not Vancouver.
• McEwan Foods: Toronto-based specialty grocer and caterer founded by celebrity chef Mark McEwan. Comparable premium positioning, butcher and prepared foods, and catering-led revenue model, though serving a different Canadian geography.
• Cumbrae Foods: Toronto butcher and specialty food retailer with strong prepared foods and catering. Comparable as a specialty butcher + prepared foods operator, though primarily Ontario-based.

Others

• Banff Trading Post / specialty mountain-town gourmet retailers: Tourist-geared gourmet and specialty food retailers in Canadian destination markets. Comparable in delivering authentic regional Italian/European assortments to a localized customer base, but with very different demand drivers and seasonality.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cioffismeat
• Facebookfacebook.com/cioffismeatmarketanddeli
• Instagraminstagram.com/cioffismeatmarket

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Cioffi's