Cub Foods stores probably will be sold sometime next year.

United Natural Foods, which owns Cub Foods, confirmed its plans for the sale on Tuesday.

According to company spokesman Michael Wilken, the company is also trying to find a buyer for Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, which operates 45 stores in the metro areas of Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Rhode Island-based United bought Supervalu Inc. in 2018 for $1.26 billion — including 80 Cubs in Minnesota and one in Illinois.

It is not yet known if the Cubs would all be sold to the same buyer, or would be sold off individually.

Cub Foods is the market leader in the Twin Cities metro area.

It has recently faced competition from Iowa-based Hy-Vee, which opened 11 stores since 2015. Expansions of food offerings by Target, Walmart, Aldi and Lunds & Byerlys have also tightened up the retail food market.