Sligro Food Group began life as a wholesaler in margarine, fats and oils, founded in 1935 by Mr. Abel Slippens, the grandfather of the current Executive Board chairman. The company's product range was extended to include food in 1946 and the first Sligro wholesale cash-and-carry outlet was opened in 1961. That was the starting-point from which the present network of 43 Sligro outlets, covering the whole of the Netherlands, has grown. Food retailers were the main customer category at that time.

Sligro shares were admitted to listing on the Amsterdam stock exchange in 1989. The flotation price was 52 guilders per share. Allowing for several share splits, this is equivalent to 1.18 euros per share currently listed on Euronext Amsterdam.

Sligro Food Group embarked on the takeover trail when still young. Its first acquisition in the early 1960s has since been followed by a hundred more. Strategically, one of the most significant takeovers was Louwers in Eindhoven in 1987, which enabled the group to move into supplying fresh produce to the restaurant and catering market. With the takeover of Wunderink in 1992, the group acquired its first delivery-service wholesaler serving that market, and many more were to follow.

The acquisition of Van Hoeckel in 1996 secured a leading position for Sligro Food Group in the institutional segment of the food service market. The downward trend in the share of food retailing in group turnover which had accompanied the many acquisitions in the food service market was abruptly reversed in January 2001, when Sligro Food Group completed the biggest acquisition in its history. With more than 300 affiliated supermarkets operating four different formats, Prisma Food Retail brought 400 employees into the group and added €325 million to turnover, helping it to pass the billion-euro mark on 16 November 2001 (the billion-guilder milestone had been passed four years previously). With the acquisition of EM-TÉ Supermarkten in May 2002, Sligro Food Group moved into the retail segment of the food market for the first time with own supermarkets.

Sligro Food Group's position in the foodservice market was greatly strengthened in 2004 by the acquisition of foodservice wholesaler VEN. In that year, VEN generated turnover of €227 million with a workforce of just over 900.

Inversco, which supplies mainly fresh, semi-fresh and convenience products to a client base consisting principally of large foodservice customers, including institutions, national chains and clients in the hospitality sector, was acquired in May 2006. Inversco has its own meat processing plant, a fruit and vegetable processing centre and three facilities making convenience products. Inversco generated sales of €132 million in 2006 with a workforce of 450.

S&S Winkels, which was formed by Sligro Food Group and Sperwer Holding in 2006, has acquired the 223 Edah supermarkets operated by Laurus. This will enable Sligro Food Group to add some 80 stores to its supermarket portfolio in 2007, significantly strengthening its position in the food retail market.

Through its consistent strategy of combining acquisition and organic growth, which has enabled it to outperform the market by a clear margin, Sligro Food Group has become a player in all the main segments of the food retailing and food service markets in the Netherlands.

Sales in 2007 totalled €2,066 million and net profit was €74 million. The group employed an average of over 5,000 fulltime-equivalents in 2007.