GrubMarket acquires Custom Produce Sales to expand further on the West Coast
San Francisco-based food technology company GrubMarket has completed the acquisition of Parlier, Calif.-based Custom Produce Sales. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In addition to its Parlier location, Custom Produce Sales also has warehouse facilities in Yuma, Ariz., and Salinas, Calif., according to a news release.
Founded in 1989 by fresh produce veterans Marvin Farris and Ted Torosian, Custom Produce Sales currently has a portfolio of over 80 commodities and ships over 10 million packages of fruits and vegetables to hundreds of foodservice, retail and wholesale customers across the U.S. annually, the release said.
The company has grown from a small service-oriented distribution company into a large wholesale distributor, still run by Farris, a 40-year industry veteran.
Custom Produce Sales also has warehouse facilities that span over 200,000 square feet in space, including a 10,000 square feet repacking room that gives the company the ability to provide premium services such as private brand labeling, special packs, bar code lot identification, product split packs, and advanced tracking, the release said.
The company’s facilities and exclusive relationships with growers enable it to offer nearly year-round access to high-demand products such as warm-season vegetables, melons, citrus, grapes and tree fruit, the release said.
Custom Produce Sales also sells a significant volume of organic fruits and vegetables and runs several private labels, including Fat Boy and Sweet Talkin'.
Related news: GrubMarket strengthens connection to California farms with latest acquisition
"Though we started from humble beginnings, we have always taken pride in working hard and satisfying our customers' needs,” Farris said in the release. “For over three decades, we have built a strong reputation as a business that provides the highest quality produce, offers exceptional customer service, and holds a deep commitment to supporting the produce industry. We are excited to join the GrubMarket team, who shares our 'one-stop/one-pick' philosophy and cares as much as we do about cultivating strong and lasting relationships with both growers and customers. We are also keen on leveraging GrubMarket's impressive ecosystem of businesses and accessing their technological capabilities to continue bringing more high-quality produce to GrubMarket's end customers.”
Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket, said in the release that the acquisition enables GrubMarket to strengthen its position in the global food supply chain by offering more in-demand products 365 days a year and expanding its portfolio of high-value organic produce offerings.
“We are thrilled to welcome the Custom Produce Sales team to the GrubMarket family,” Xu said in the release.
As a part of GrubMarket's portfolio, Custom Produce Sales will now 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.
Related news: GrubMarket expands into New Mexico through the acquisition of Quality Fruit & Vegetable Co.
