KeHE Distributors

KeHE focuses on natural, organic, specialty, and fresh food products. It acts as a wholesale intermediary between thousands of suppliers and a wide range of grocery retailers, from independent stores to large chains. Their assortment is curated to exclude conventional broad-line commodities in favor of higher-growth, health-oriented, and niche categories. The company also moves bulk and fresh items through its cold-chain network.

The company was founded by Art Kehe. While the current day-to-day leadership structure is not fully detailed in public materials, a firm blog post promotes 'Meet Dave Strege,' indicating he holds a senior leadership role. In June 2026, the company announced the appointment of Steven A. White, a recognized industry leader, to its board of directors.

KeHE is an employee-owned company. Its website states it has more than 8,000 employee-owners. This structure means the company's equity is held in a trust for the benefit of its employees, typically through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), aligning the workforce's incentives with the long-term health of the enterprise.

KeHE operates 19 distribution centers strategically located across North America. Their routes provide coverage throughout the United States and extend into Canada. This network supports their core truckload and less-than-truckload delivery to retailer stores, as well as their KeHE CONNECT Direct small-parcel service with one-to-three-day delivery times.

The firm offers a retailer-facing platform called KeHE CONNECT that functions as a 24/7 hub for everyday ordering, new item discovery, and access to exclusive promotional events. On the logistics side, KeHE CONNECT Direct is a small-parcel solution requiring no minimum order and offering free shipping on orders over $50, designed to serve retailers who need rapid restocking of shelf-stable, natural, or organic items.

KeHE has been a Certified B Corporation since 2015, a status it has recertified by surpassing increasingly difficult standards. The certification legally requires the company to balance profit with purpose, verifying high standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. The firm has been named one of the 'Best B Corps for the World for Workers' four times, a distinction tied to its employee ownership and labor practices.

Tree of Life is a subsidiary that operates as 'a KeHE Company.' It functions as a dedicated growth partner for brands that want to elevate their profile and build consumer demand. This unit focuses on sales, marketing, and distribution services specifically tailored to help emerging and established specialty food brands scale within the North American market.