Financial research concept

Foodservice Organic Case Volume Growth

measures case growth from established operations after excluding recently acquired businesses under the distributor's organic-volume policy.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 29, 2026
Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date
Sep 29, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
10 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Foodservice Distribution Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
2 reviewed companiesRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

Foodservice organic case volume growth measures case growth from operations that qualify as organic under the distributor's acquisition-seasoning policy.

US Foods reported 1.7% total organic case-volume growth for the 13 weeks ended June 27, 2026. PFG reported 2.8% total organic case-volume growth for fiscal 2026.

Organic volume separates underlying demand from acquired scale

Headline total case-volume growth can accelerate when a distributor buys another business.

US Foods states that organic volume includes operating businesses reflected in results for at least 12 months. PFG also separates organic cases from acquisition-driven volume, but investors should retain the issuer's own definition instead of assuming a universal seasoning rule.

Organic growth still contains customer-mix changes

An organic case can come from an independent restaurant, chain, healthcare customer, hospitality customer, or another channel within the reporting scope.

That means organic case growth answers whether the existing business is moving more cases, not whether the mix is becoming more profitable. Organic independent case growth narrows the question to a strategically important customer group.

Primary sources: US Foods Q2 2026 Form 10-Q and PFG fiscal 2026 Form 10-K.

Part of the Foodservice Distribution Economics

Connect case-volume growth and acquisition-normalized demand with local and independent customer mix, proprietary-brand penetration, food-cost inflation, gross margin, and adjusted EBITDA conversion.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →
Where this concept fits
  • Case growth and acquisition normalizationCurrent relationship
    Total case growth measures physical volume before acquisition normalization, organic case growth removes recently acquired operations under issuer policy, and local or independent-customer measures reveal where that volume is coming from. Local and independent definitions remain issuer-specific rather than interchangeable.
  • Customer, brand, and inflation mix
    Independent sales mix shows customer composition, proprietary-brand case mix shows product composition, and food-cost inflation shows the pricing input moving through the distribution model. Each can affect gross profit without representing the same economic lever.
  • Gross profit and operating conversion
    Gross margin captures sales less product cost, while adjusted EBITDA margin carries the analysis through distribution, selling, administrative, and issuer-defined adjustment layers. Margin conversion therefore depends on both upstream mix and downstream cost productivity.

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

Explore other companies in this operating model

These companies are linked to at least two other reviewed concepts in the same operating model, but are not currently linked to this concept. This is broader research navigation, not evidence that the company reports an equivalent metric.

Continue Research

Continue from the concept into the Grizzly Bulls research surface that best matches the next question. These links are research continuations, not recommendations or required steps.

Compare stocks

Compare organic case growth

Compare acquisition-adjusted case growth while preserving each distributor's seasoning period and organic-volume definition.

Explore more topics in the Financial Research Encyclopedia.