GrubMarket acquires JC Cheyne, expands West Coast footprint
GrubMarket says it has acquired JC Cheyne, which sells over 70 different items, including a variety of potatoes and onions, to more than 80 retail, foodservice and wholesale establishments throughout California.
JC Cheyne, based in Oregon and California, was founded over 60 years ago by fresh produce veteran Jimmie Cheyne and has been managed over the past several decades by Scott Fenters, whose 40-year produce career spans farming, running packing sheds, doing produce sales and launching a potato packing house in Oregon, according to a news release.
The company says it operates several stalls and a refrigerated warehouse at the Golden Gate Produce Terminal, one of Northern California's largest and busiest produce terminals. After the acquisition, JC Cheyne will continue to be managed by its current leadership team, according to the release.
"This company started through the hard work and vision of Jimmie Cheyne, who instilled in all of us the core philosophy to take care of our business and relationships the way we would want our partners to take care of us," Fenters said in the release. "I am proud of what we have built at JC Cheyne and the sterling reputation we have developed over the years through our commitment to treat everyone with respect and integrity. We are excited to join the GrubMarket team, which shares our family-oriented values and cares as much as we do about cultivating strong and lasting relationships with both suppliers and customers. We are also excited to leverage GrubMarket's technology ecosystem to bring more potatoes and onions to GrubMarket's end customers nationwide."
As a part of GrubMarket's portfolio, JC Cheyne will use GrubMarket's proprietary WholesaleWare software suite, a software-as-a-service platform that provides food industry wholesalers and distributors with seamless financial management, powerful sales support, online ordering, precise inventory management, lot traceability, grower accounting and automated routing and logistics, as well as Orders IO, GrubMarket's custom branded mobile eCommerce solution, according to the release.
"It is evident that Jimmie, and now Scott, have done a wonderful job steering JC Cheyne to the levels of success that it is seeing today. The company has an exceptional reputation in the Bay Area and has certainly earned the respect of its peers," GrubMarke CEO Mike Xu said in a news release. "Its highly diversified customer base, expertise in potatoes and onions, and proficiency in quick inventory turnover are a true testament to its strong business fundamentals. The entire JC Cheyne team treats each other like family, which aligns with GrubMarket's commitment to taking care of our people and partners. With this acquisition, GrubMarket continues to strengthen our West Coast presence; I am thrilled to welcome JC Cheyne to the GrubMarket family."
