Lipari Foods Acquires Ohio Specialty Distributor

In a bid to further bolster its aim of becoming one of the country's leading fresh food wholesale distributors, Lipari Foods is acquiring specialty and gourmet distributor Leo A. Dick & Sons Co. of Canton, Ohio. The acquisition will strengthen the Warren, Mich.-based Lipari’s existing specialty grocery product portfolio, which includes a broad range of natural, organic and gluten-free foods.

The addition of Leo A. Dick & Sons – whose president, Leo Dick, and VP Lawrence J. Dick will join its new parent company's specialty food division – follows Lipari’s 2015 acquisition of Wisconsin-based Soderholm Wholesale Foods, which also boasted an extensive specialty grocery product line.

“Our customers continue to bring more natural, organic and specialty products into their stores in order to meet the needs of today’s consumer,” says Lipari Foods President/CEO Thom Lipari. “With the acquisition of Leo A. Dick & Sons, we will continue to deliver high quality product solutions to our customer base.”

Commenting on the opportunity to partner with one of the industry's leading distributors, Leo A. Dick, whose grandfather founded the business nearly a century ago, said the move "will benefit our current customers by increasing our product offering more than tenfold, and enable Lipari Foods to represent a broader and more innovative product selection."

The acquisition, which is subject to completion of definitive documentation and satisfaction of customary closing conditions, is expected to close in several weeks.

Lipari Foods is a leading independent “perimeter of the store” distributor in the Midwest, delivering a wide range of quality bakery, dairy, deli, packaging, seafood, meat, grocery, foodservice, confectionery and convenience food and beverage products to more than 5,000 customers across 13 states.