GrubMarket has acquired PA China Farm, a Philadelphia-based provider of specialty fruits and vegetables.
PA China Farm sells a wide variety of fruits and vegetables but is best known for its specialty exotic goods like black cabbage, baby bok choy, napa cabbage, papaya and durian, as well as yogurt, tofu and other products sourced from a global network, according to a news release.
Founded in 1998, PA China Farm has cultivated long-standing relationships with a diverse selection of supermarkets, foodservice businesses and ethnic retail stores over the past 25 years, the release said, supplying customers from Boston to Maryland and Virginia. The company operates a warehouse facility that spans nearly 50,000 square feet in space and includes different temperature zones, along with nine coolers to accommodate a variety of fresh offerings, according to the release.
After the acquisition, the business will continue to be managed by its current leadership team, the release said.
“What really excites me about joining GrubMarket is this shared sense of family and community-building through fresh and healthy food,” Tony Lin, founder and owner of PA China Farm, said in the release. “Mike and his team’s vision to streamline the food supply chain through e-commerce and software is sorely needed, and I’m looking forward to leveraging GrubMarket’s technology and network to provide more globally sourced specialty goods to GrubMarket’s customers nationwide.”
GrubMarket CEO Mike Xu said in the release that Lin and his team at PA China Farm have built an “amazing” fresh produce business.
“Many of their loyal customers have been with them for decades, which is a testament to their long-standing commitment to the fresh produce industry and their service-oriented approach to success,” Xu said in the release. “Equally impressive is the global supply network that the PA team has cultivated, which allows them to source exotic and unique items from regions like Mexico, South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and even Western Europe, among other areas.
“Their determination to provide ‘quality from the ground up’ and passion for bringing globally sourced produce to the U.S. are some of the same fundamental value drivers that have made GrubMarket so impactful,” Xu continued. “This acquisition enables GrubMarket to reinforce our Northeast presence, particularly in Pennsylvania, and strengthen our global sourcing capabilities.”
As a part of GrubMarket’s portfolio, PA China Farm will use GrubMarket’s proprietary WholesaleWare software suite, the company’s software-as-a-service platform that provides food industry wholesalers and distributors with financial management, sales and online ordering features, inventory management, lot traceability, grower accounting, and automated routing and logistics, as well as Orders IO, GrubMarket’s custom branded mobile e-commerce solution, the release said.
