Food and Beverage
An overview of food distribution, beverage distribution and hospitality supply online, and what separates the three of them from one another.
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In this article
Talk to our expertsAn overview of the category
Food and beverage distribution covers product sold into restaurants, hotels, grocery, retail and institutional accounts, along with the supplies those operations run on. Buyers order frequently, often weekly, against contracts negotiated annually, which makes reordering rather than discovery the center of the experience.
What makes this category different from general distribution is that the constraints come from outside commerce. Product characteristics, regulation and delivery logistics each impose rules that the storefront has to respect rather than invent, and which of those dominates depends on what you sell.
Within that, the category has three distinct sides.
Food distribution. The constraint is the product. Catch weight ordering breaks the usual assumption that price multiplies by quantity, because a customer orders a case and is invoiced for the weight that shipped. Lot codes and expiry dates are a recall obligation, recoverable per customer and per shipment. Frozen, chilled and ambient goods cannot travel together, so fulfillment rules belong at the point of ordering.
Beverage distribution. The constraint is regulation and the route. License status determines what an account may order, and state rules determine where it can ship. Containers are frequently assets you expect back, carrying a deposit that settles separately from the sale. Delivery runs on a route, on a day, against a cutoff.
Hospitality and foodservice supply. The constraint is the operating cycle of the customer. This is the distributor supplying restaurants and hotels with consumables, chemicals, smallwares, parts and equipment around the food rather than the food itself. Ordering starts from a par sheet or an order guide rather than a catalog.
Choose the part of the category that fits your business
Food distribution For food manufacturers and distributors. Catch weight pricing, lot and expiry traceability, cold chain fulfillment, case pack minimums.
Beverage distribution For beverage distributors, breweries and wineries. Licensed account gating, state by state eligibility, keg deposits and returnable containers, route and cutoff scheduling.
Restaurant and hotel supply For foodservice and hospitality supply distributors. Order guides and par level reordering, standing weekly orders, contract account pricing, delivery route cutoffs.
Operators who span more than one
Many operators in this category sit across two of the three. That does not require two platforms. All of it runs from one Shopify store, one product catalog and one ERP connection, with the buying experience separated by account and catalog rather than by system, and the account structure underneath is shared whichever way you go. If your business spans more than one, start with the page carrying the heaviest constraint, since that is what the architecture gets built around.
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Frequently asked questions
What does B2B ecommerce look like in food and beverage?
Food and beverage distribution covers product sold into restaurants, hotels, grocery, retail and institutional accounts, along with the supplies those operations run on. Buyers order frequently, often weekly, against contracts negotiated annually, which makes reordering rather than discovery the center of the experience.
Which food and beverage page fits my business?
Food Distribution is for food manufacturers and distributors, covering catch weight pricing, lot and expiry traceability, cold chain fulfillment and case pack minimums. Beverage Distribution is for beverage distributors, breweries and wineries, covering licensed account gating, state by state eligibility, keg deposits and returnable containers, and route and cutoff scheduling. Restaurant and Hotel Supply is for foodservice and hospitality supply distributors, covering order guides and par level reordering, standing weekly orders, contract account pricing and delivery route cutoffs.
Can one Shopify store handle food, beverage and hospitality supply together?
Yes. All of it runs from one Shopify store, one product catalog and one ERP connection, with the buying experience separated by account and catalog rather than by system. If your business spans more than one side, start with the page carrying the heaviest constraint, since that is what the architecture gets built around.
Can Shopify handle catch weight pricing?
Not natively. It is built: the order carries an estimated total from nominal weight at the agreed price per unit weight, fulfillment returns actual weights, and the invoice reflects them. The estimate is disclosed at order time rather than discovered on the invoice.
Can delivery routes and order cutoffs be enforced at checkout?
Yes. Delivery day, cutoff time, branch and route are configured per account and enforced using Shopify's delivery customization capability, so an order placed after cutoff shows the next real delivery date for that account rather than an option that was never going to be honored.
How is contract pricing handled for food and beverage accounts?
In the ERP, where the contract lives. Item level negotiated prices, escalators and volume terms sync to Shopify through Uncap Connect and enforce at checkout.
