GrubMarket Expanding Through Performance Produce Acquisition
Food technology company GrubMarket has completed the acquisition of North Carolina-based Performance Produce, a vertically integrated fresh produce business that sells more than 80 items to nearly 100 retail customers across the Southeast. The move will help GrubMarket expand its presence throughout that region.
Performance Produce was founded in 2007 by JR Roach, and today operates a 40,000-square-foot Primus GFS-certified warehouse facility. The company's state-of-the-art operations and diversified supplier base enables it to offer a consistent supply of specialty foods and core items, including onions, potatoes, brussels sprouts, tomatoes and other assorted fruits and vegetables.
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"I started my career in the produce industry in 1977 and have experience working across every aspect of the business. My wife and I had always dreamed of running our own business, and we worked hard to build Performance Produce into the successful company you see today,” said JR Roach, owner of Performance Produce. “Our outstanding reputation was not built overnight; it was our dedication to and consistent delivery of excellent customer service that allowed us to shine. This is evident in the large cohort of customers that has been with us for well over a decade.”
Continued Roach: “We are thrilled to join the GrubMarket team, which shares our service-oriented values and cares as much as we do about taking care of not only customers and suppliers, but also employees. The team members at GrubMarket feel like kindred spirits. We can't wait to join this tight-knit family and leverage GrubMarket's incredible technology ecosystem to bring more high-quality and farm-fresh produce to GrubMarket's customers nationwide."
Following the acquisition, Performance Produce will continue to be managed by its current leadership team.
"JR embodies the true spirit of an entrepreneur – he started Performance Produce from scratch with his wife Virginia and worked tirelessly around the clock in the warehouse to personally fulfill all of his customers' needs. As a fellow entrepreneur, I can appreciate the hard work and dedication required to achieve unmatched success and the sterling reputation built on dependability and reliability that Performance Produce has maintained for the last 17 years,” said Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket. “Several of their largest customers have been with them since their earliest years, which is a testament to their outstanding customer service and enviable delivery and fulfillment track record. With this acquisition, GrubMarket expands further into North Carolina and strengthens our strategic presence within the Southeastern U.S. We are beyond excited to welcome the Performance Produce team to the GrubMarket family."
Performance Produce will now be able to utilize GrubMarket's artificial intelligence-powered WholesaleWare software suite that provides food industry wholesalers and distributors with financial management, sales support, online ordering, inventory management, lot traceability, grower accounting and automated routing and logistics.
Founded in 2014, GrubMarket operates in the space of food supply chain e-commerce for both business customers and end consumers, as well as providing related SAAS solutions. Currently, the company operates in all 50 U.S. states; the Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia; Argentina, Chile and Colombia in South America; and Egypt, India, Mexico, South Africa and Spain, with more plans to expand.
