Thirty-six customers per wholesaler: who will take a bite out of whom on the Belgian market?

INSIGHT - The consolidation of food and beverage wholesalers is on everyone's lips. It's essential that market discussions are based on concrete figures.

What is the reality on the ground for wholesalers?

• 2787 wholesalers* share the Belgian territory to serve 100,000 points of sale, i.e. one wholesaler for 36 points of sale on average**.

• Total turnover, including tobacco and non-food items, amounts to €12.83 billion. That's an average of €4.603 billion per wholesaler.

• However, there are significant disparities: more than 1487 wholesalers have turnovers below one million euros.

• Conway, with €1.993 billion, is the country's highest-grossing wholesaler.

• Net margins are slim, between -0.5% and 2%.

• The need for digitalization is urgent in order to better and more efficiently serve customers.

In this context, each wholesaler studies its acquisition or sales opportunities. Targets are assessed according to three axes of complementarity: the market segment or type of customer served (traditional restaurants, institutional catering, convenience stores), the product category (fresh, chilled, dry, packaged goods, beverages) or the region and route-to-market.

Let's focus on the location axis.

A dominant Flanders, an undervalued Wallonia, a structurally constrained Brussels

The divide is primarily regional. Of the 2,787 wholesalers identified, 1,730 are based in Flanders, 615 in Wallonia, and 401 in Brussels***. In terms of turnover, the imbalance is even more pronounced: Flanders generates €9.39 billion, Wallonia €2.68 billion, and Brussels €747 million.

The Brussels situation is easily explained: high real estate costs and a lack of available land for large warehouses or logistics platforms. Food wholesale is a business of square meters and truck traffic. Brussels is not its natural habitat.

Wallonia deserves a more nuanced analysis. With 615 businesses generating €2.68 billion in revenue, the turnover per wholesaler ratio is structurally lower than in Flanders. This isn't solely a matter of demographics or the density of the hospitality sector; it also reflects a more fragmented, less consolidated market, where small regional businesses are still holding their own. Or perhaps they're simply less attractive?

Antwerp, first in numbers, not in value

At the provincial level, Antwerp has the most wholesalers: 509, representing 18.3% of the national total. Brussels follows with 401, then West Flanders with 374. The ranking is reversed in terms of value.

East Flanders leads the way with €3.29 billion in revenue, ahead of Antwerp (€2.3 billion) and West Flanders (€1.7 billion). Antwerp has more wholesalers than East Flanders, and East Flanders derives more value from them.

This turnover is driven by a handful of super-wholesalers, for whom tobacco accounts for a significant portion of the total. Conway, Fixmer, and Trendy Foods form the top three. Bidfood, the number one Belgian wholesaler, has its turnover spread across several regional entities, which dilutes its weight in the provincial rankings.

The same logic applies to the Oresto alliance and the Prik & Tik cooperative: their actual size does not appear in any province taken in isolation.

The map: another perspective on upcoming mergers and acquisitions

The question is no longer whether consolidation will take place. It's already underway. But the map now shows where it might strike first.

For the complete analysis of wholesalers, the "Wholesaler's Last Course" report will be available exclusively to Gondola Foodservice members at the end of June.

*The 2,787 food and beverage wholesalers also include specialist wine and coffee merchants. Some deliver a significant portion to individuals, as is the case with the cash and carry outlets of the major wholesalers.

This is an average that assumes a point of sale is served by only one wholesaler, which is not the case. On average, 5 to 6 wholesalers serve a single point of sale, depending on their specialty.

***41 wholesalers are unclassified by region.