GrubMarket acquires Sierra Produce
San Francisco-based GrubMarket announced it has completed the acquisition of Sierra Produce, one of the largest importers of South American fruits directly from growers into the United States.
Sierra Produce is a highly established and well-respected leading fruit provider to a wide range of business customers including grocery stores, supermarkets, online grocers and others across the U.S. It has long-standing and diverse relationships with many local growers directly in South America, including Chile, Argentina, Peru, Columbia and Mexico.
Founded in 1996, Sierra Produce provides a variety of high-quality fresh fruits to businesses throughout the United States. Its well-trained QC department inspects fruits upon arrival and prior to shipping. Sierra Produce also has full repack/restyle capabilities, with quick turn-around times, full-service delivery options, flexible transportation, including LTL (Less than Load), ad planning and marketing support.
It handles direct communication with the growers at farm level for timely harvest information. Its products include blueberries, grapes, cherries, pears, kiwi and a variety of citrus and stone fruits. Historically, its grower associates have been strategically selected to provide a multitude of different varieties throughout the whole growing season. After the acquisition, the business will continue to be managed by its current leadership team.
“We are excited to join the GrubMarket team and welcome the opportunities brought forth by GrubMarket’s robust technology platform and network. We are constantly striving for the best customer service and committed to meet the needs of all our growers and customers. We are thrilled to learn that GrubMarket shares this same mission. We sincerely look forward to joining the GrubMarket Team and bringing Sierra Produce to the next level of success.” said Roland Berndt, CEO of Sierra Produce.
According to Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket: “Sierra Produce is one of the biggest providers of South American fruits in the United States. It sources from financially sound growers who manage their own proprietary farms. Its relationships with growers are long standing and, in many cases, exclusive. These diverse relationships in the Southern Hemisphere provide a consistent flow of products to our growing customer base. The top-notch team at Sierra Produce has quite a few business geniuses who are hard to find elsewhere in this food space, and is a true value-added partner for their customers and producers. This acquisition enables to GrubMarket to further deepen its software domain knowledge in working with South American growers and strengthen the integration between local and import capabilities supported by our software. We are excited to welcome the Sierra Produce team to the GrubMarket family. Together, we will build a greater customer base and a stronger producer network in the food ecosystem worldwide.”
Lastly, Sierra Produce will now be able to utilize GrubMarket’s innovative proprietary WholesaleWare software suite, the company’s Software-as-a-Service platform providing food industry suppliers and vendors with seamless financial management, easy-to-use online ordering and sales, precise inventory management, and engaging CRM tools.
