The Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF) Investor Day 2025 summary

Strategic Growth and Market Expansion

• Expanded to over 49 distribution centers, serving 70,000 customers with 88,000 SKUs and 4,000 suppliers, focusing on major markets and international growth.

• Florida and Texas serve as models for unified, scalable facilities, driving double-digit growth and operational efficiency.

• International expansion highlighted by Chef Middle East, which doubled warehouse size, opened new distribution centers and test kitchens, and achieved double-digit revenue growth through category expansion and market penetration.

• Strategic investments in high-growth U.S. regions and the Middle East are expected to contribute ~75% of incremental adjusted EBITDA by 2028.

• Creating a unified "True Chefs' Warehouse" model in high-growth markets, integrating specialty and protein operations for efficiency and gross profit growth.

Sales, Digital Transformation, and Operational Excellence

• Team-based sales model leverages category experts, robust training (CW University), and a commission structure aligned with company goals.

• Digital platform adoption exceeds 60% among specialty customers, with advanced personalization, behavioral analytics, and hybrid selling enhancing customer experience and salesforce effectiveness.

• Real-time data analytics (Power BI), dynamic pricing models with AI/ML integration, and Select Prime for order selection improve decision-making, operational KPIs, and margin management.

• Procurement enhancements through predictive demand forecasting, automation, and preferred supplier agreements optimize costs and supply chain resilience.

• Facility and route strategies focus on consolidating operations, reducing overhead, and enabling growth in both U.S. and international markets.

Financial Guidance and Capital Allocation

• Fiscal 2025 net sales guidance of $3.94–$4.04 billion, gross profit of $951–$976 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $233–$246 million, with ~10% EBITDA flow-through on estimated revenue growth.

• 2028 targets: $4.5–$5 billion revenue, $300–$350 million adjusted EBITDA (6.5–7% margin), and mid-teen ROIC, driven by organic sales growth, operational leverage, and technology adoption.

• Targeting $60–$100 million in free cash flow for 2025, with disciplined capital allocation, capex at ~1% of revenue, continued debt repayment, and opportunistic M&A.

• 2024 year-end net debt leverage at 2.5x, with a target range of 2.0x–3.0x going forward.

• Mature markets expected to grow 5–10% annually, while newer markets target low to mid-teens growth rates, with organic growth as the main focus.