Director, Supplier Services, UNFI Canada

Andrew Cote is an accomplished food industry leader with more than 25 years of experience across Canada’s natural, organic, dairy, and specialty food sectors. A graduate of Mohawk College’s Marketing program in 2000 and General Business program in 2001, he combines extensive business leadership with a strong commitment to mentoring, community service, and volunteerism.

Following graduation, Andrew began his business career as a field sales representative with Liberté Yogurt, which was a small and growing company at the time. During his tenure, he steadily advanced through positions of increasing responsibility, progressing from field sales to leading the sales team and ultimately becoming a National Account Manager before joining UNFI Canada.

Andrew currently serves as Director of Supplier Services at UNFI Canada, the country’s leading natural and organic food distributor and part of North America’s largest publicly traded natural foods distributor. During his 17-year career with UNFI, Andrew has held progressively senior positions, assuming his current role in 2022.

Andrew oversees a nine-figure supplier portfolio representing more than 500 vendors globally. In recent years, he has been a key contributor to the successful negotiation of exclusive national distribution agreements that have generated a combined value of more than $100 million annually for UNFI.

In 2021, Andrew launched UpNext Canada, UNFI’s startup incubator program, and has continued to support entrepreneurial development through initiatives such as York University’s YSpace program.

He has served in advisory and governance roles with the Canadian Health Food Association’s Advisory Council and GS1 Canada’s Micro-Small Enterprise initiatives, contributing to regulatory discussions, supplier standards, and inclusive growth across the industry. Andrew also leads UNFI Canada’s involvement with Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council.

Since 2009, Andrew has dedicated thousands of hours to youth development and community sport in Hamilton and Stoney Creek. What began as coaching quickly evolved into broader leadership responsibilities and multiple board roles with the Stoney Creek Minor Hockey Association. He has served as Vice-President of Operations for the Stoney Creek Warriors AA hockey club while also overseeing public relations and the Jr. Warriors House League. For the past eight years, he has also led the association’s participation in the annual Stoney Creek Santa Claus Parade.

In 2022, Andrew received UNFI’s Circle of Excellence Award, an annual company-wide recognition honoring top-performing associates who exemplify UNFI’s values, exceed business goals, and drive innovation.

As in-person trade shows returned following the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew led the redesign and execution of UNFI Canada’s national trade show pavilion. The innovative outdoor patio-themed experience reconnected suppliers, retailers, and industry partners and earned the Canadian Health Food Association’s Best Large Pavilion Award for its creativity, vision, and execution.

In 2024, Andrew received the Gene Blanchard Lifetime Award from the Stoney Creek Minor Hockey Association. One of the association’s highest honor's, the award recognized his outstanding volunteer service and long-standing dedication to youth hockey and the community.