Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator

What Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator does

The Kroger Co., doing business in part through the Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator, is the largest pure-play US grocery retailer, founded in 1883 and headquartered at 1014 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. The company operates approximately 2,700 retail food stores across 35 states under two-dozen banner names including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, Dillons, Pick 'N Save, Mariano's, and Dillon's, serving roughly 11 million customers daily and generating more than $132.5 billion in annual sales. Its product and service ecosystem spans retail grocery, an integrated 2,270-pharmacy health division (Kroger Health) and 220+ Little Clinic locations, more than 1,700 fuel centers, 35 food manufacturing facilities, and an e-commerce platform with pickup and delivery that crossed $16 billion in 2025 sales. Vendor and supplier operations are coordinated through a suite of digital tools — Partner Pass (single sign-on with Okta MFA), Supplier Hub (vendor profile and compliance management), the Kroger Specification Portal, Supplier Connect (remittance), Inventory Replenishment Collaboration (forecasting), and Lavante — which collectively form the Supplier Accelerator interface for both local and global vendors. Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based retail and pharmacy sales, complemented by private label ('Our Brands') penetration across Simple Truth, Private Selection, Home Chef, Kroger Brand, and other in-house labels, plus a growing Boost subscription membership and a retail media advertising business that monetizes shopper data. Customer segments are wide and consumer-led (families, loyalty members, healthcare patients, and diverse-owned small suppliers), with go-to-market executed through both physical storefronts in nine US regions and digital channels including owned e-commerce and third-party marketplaces such as DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Name

Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator

Legal name

The Kroger Co.

Website

https://thekrogerco.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Kroger Co. is a US grocery retailer operating roughly 2,700 stores across 35 states, serving 11 million customers daily through grocery, pharmacy, fuel, and e-commerce channels, and supporting suppliers through its digital Partner Pass and Supplier Hub platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grocery Retail Supplier Management

NAICS

Specialty Food Retailers (4452), Other Gasoline Stations (457120)

akta.pro primary industry

Grocery & Pantry Inventory-led Online Retailers (CRAFADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online Fresh Food Specialists (Produce/Meat/Seafood) (CRAHAIAF), Online Specialty Grocery (Organic/Health/Ethnic/Gourmet) (CRAHAIAE)

Keywords

• Supplier diversity programs
• Vendor management platforms
• Local food sourcing
• Grocery supply chain
• Supplier onboarding

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Food Sales: Sale of groceries, fresh food, and consumer goods through Kroger retail stores across 35 states under multiple banner names
2. E-commerce: Online grocery sales through Kroger.com with pickup and delivery options, crossing $16 billion in sales
3. Pharmacy Services: Operation of 2,270+ pharmacies providing prescription filling and health services
4. Fuel Centers: Over 1,700 fuel centers providing gasoline and diesel fuel
5. Private Label Products: Our Brands portfolio including Simple Truth, Private Selection, Kroger Brand, Home Chef, and other private label products
6. Retail Media: Retail media business that creates value for suppliers and generates profit from advertising on Kroger platforms

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator is a Kroger Co. initiative that invests in the food sector by accelerating local, fresh, and diverse suppliers into Kroger's retail ecosystem. It provides vendors with self-service onboarding, profile and compliance management, product specification collaboration, inventory forecasting, and remittance/payment tools across roughly 2,700 stores serving 11 million customers daily.

Product overview

The Kroger Co. operates a multi-channel retail platform consisting of over 2,700 retail food stores across 35 states under various banner names, serving approximately 11 million customers daily. Kroger's product ecosystem includes: (1) Retail grocery operations under banners including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Fry's Food Drugs, Harris Teeter, Dillons, Mariano's, and others; (2) Kroger's own brand portfolio called 'Our Brands' featuring Simple Truth (natural/organic), Private Selection (premium), Kroger Brand (main private label), Home Chef (meal kits), Murray's Cheese, Bloom Haus (floral), and other specialty brands; (3) Kroger Health division operating 2,270+ pharmacies and 220+ Little Clinic locations; (4) eCommerce platform offering pickup and delivery services; (5) Boost by Kroger membership program providing fuel points and discounts; (6) 32 food manufacturing facilities producing private label products; and (7) Supplier-facing technology platforms including Partner Pass (vendor SSO portal), Supplier Hub (vendor management system), Kroger Specification Portal, Supplier Connect (remittance), IRC (inventory forecasting), and Lavante (payment data). The vendor/supplier accelerator program connects local and global suppliers through these digital platforms to deliver products across Kroger's retail network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Simple Truth: America's largest natural and organic brand. Over 1,500 products made without 101+ artificial ingredients.
• Private Selection
• Our Brands
• Fresh for Everyone
• Kroger Health
• Zero Hunger | Zero Waste

Products and services

• Partner Pass Single sign-on portal for Kroger vendors providing secure access to applications needed to do business with Kroger, including Supplier Hub, Supplier Connect, and Inventory Replenishment Collaboration (IRC), secured with Okta multi-factor authentication.
• Supplier Hub Kroger's vendor management system used by prospect and current vendors to maintain company profiles, submit product types, tax information, facility details, compliance documents, and contact management information.
• Kroger Specification Portal Online portal that allows Kroger and vendors to interact via questionnaires, specifications, and documents for data integrity and enhanced vendor relationships across food and consumer goods.
• Supplier Connect Kroger Supplier Remittance Detail Platform that allows suppliers to manage and view payment and remittance information tied to their accounts with Kroger.
• Inventory Replenishment Collaboration (IRC) Portal providing forecasting data and warehouse receipt sharing so vendors can collaborate on inventory replenishment with Kroger.
• Lavante Self-service portal for Kroger vendors to view payment remittance data and resolve discrepancies through standardized workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.9 billion meals donated to communities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Hy-VeeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Co-host of Nourishing Change movement and conferences focused on advancing health outcomes through collaboration between healthcare, retail, food, and community organizations. The 2026 conference in Des Moines brought together over 1,200 leaders and 60+ emerging brands.
• Ahold Delhaize USA (Food Lion, Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford, Stop & Shop)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2026Joined as host for 2027 Nourishing Change Conference in Washington D.C., expanding the movement to include East Coast grocery retail perspectives. Represents coalition of retail and healthcare leaders advancing collaborative solutions.
• OktacoreTechnology or IntegrationPartner for multi-factor authentication (MFA) through Partner Pass vendor portal. Okta Verify app provides additional security layer for vendor login credentials to protect organizational data.
• Feeding AmericaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member since 1978, supporting food bank network to address hunger. Kroger works with Feeding America through Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative to redirect surplus food to communities.
• World Wildlife FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership since 2009 to advance seafood sustainability practices in Kroger's supply chain.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Amazon: Operates Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and a Prime-anchored grocery delivery stack — the principal e-commerce threat referenced in Kroger's third-party delivery partnerships. Competes on convenience and selection rather than physical footprint.
• Target Corporation: General merchandise retailer whose grocery, fresh, and pickup/drive-up services directly compete with Kroger across all 35 states. Operates a national scale, loyalty program (Target Circle), and growing private label (Good & Gather) adjacent to Kroger's Our Brands.
• Costco Wholesale: Membership-based club retailer competing intensely on grocery EDLP, Kirkland Signature private label, and fresh food. Disrupts the same end-customer wallets Kroger targets but with a fundamentally different membership-funded model and limited fresh-prepared overlap.
• Walmart: Largest US grocery retailer and Kroger's most significant competitor on price, scale, and omnichannel. Overlaps directly in grocery, e-commerce pickup/delivery, private label, and pharmacy, but is a multi-category general merchandiser with a materially bigger cost base.

Direct peers

• Hy-Vee: Employee-owned Midwestern supermarket chain and named Nourishing Change partner with Kroger. Comparable banner-based grocery model with integrated pharmacies, fuel, and private label, and overlap in fresh-food and local-supplier positioning.
• Publix Super Markets: Employee-owned Southeast US supermarket with leading customer service reputation, integrated pharmacies, and a growing e-commerce and private-label program. Comparable store-format grocery operator with similar in-store prepared food and fresh emphasis.
• Albertsons Companies: Closest direct supermarket peer with similarly multi-banner structure (Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Acme, etc.), comparable private-label strategy, fuel and pharmacy operations, and a loyalty program. Earlier merger talks with Kroger confirm full overlap in operating model and customer base.
• Ahold Delhaize: Operates Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant Food, Hannaford, and The GIANT Company in the US — explicitly a Nourishing Change co-host with Kroger. Same banner-led grocery model, comparable pharmacy and e-commerce strategies, and a direct East Coast competitive overlap.

Regional players

• H-E-B: Texas-based regional supermarket with industry-leading fresh and private label (H-E-B branded, Central Market, Primo Picks). Comparable banner-and-format operating model and local-supplier strategy but geographically concentrated, limiting direct overlap with Kroger outside the Southwest.
• Loblaw Companies: Canada's largest grocery retailer with President's Choice and No Name private-label brands, Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy integration, and an emerging loyalty/data business. Strong analog to Kroger's banner + private-label + pharmacy + loyalty mix, but operates in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kroger
• YouTubeyoutube.com/kroger
• Facebookfacebook.com/Kroger
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kroger
• Instagraminstagram.com/krogerco
• Pinterestpinterest.com/krogerco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments5 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator