Texas-based grocery cooperative Affiliated Foods has joined the Independent Grocers Alliance as a licensed distribution center, IGA announced Wednesday.
Under the arrangement, Affiliated Foods will provide retailers with access to IGA tools designed to help community-based grocers compete, including marketing, advertising, operations support and private label programs. The co-op will be able to support retailers whether or not they use the IGA brand.
Affiliated Foods distributes groceries to more than 700 member stores and restaurants in eight states: Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Arkansas. It also runs Tri State Baking Company, Panhandle Pure, Plains Dairy, Affiliated Fresh Cuts and Produce Pre-Pak.
Affiliated Foods is “retailer-owned, deeply committed to independent grocers, and focused every day on helping local operators compete against national and regional chains,” IGA CEO John Ross said in a statement. “Their addition strengthens IGA’s footprint in markets where we see tremendous opportunity.”
IGA added that it plans to examine how it could use a program under which Affiliated Foods trains grocery workers in a “dark store” setup in its warehouse as a basis for future training activities through the IGA Coca-Cola Institute.
IGA’s arrangement with Affiliated Foods follows the group’s announcement in May 2025 that it had brought on Winkler Wholesale Grocers as a licensed distribution center. Winkler serves about 400 retail accounts in seven Midwestern states.
