GrubMarket Acquires Produce Wholesaler
Food technology and e-commerce company GrubMarket has completed the acquisition of Texas-based RJ Produce Inc. to bolster its nationwide food supply chain presence.
Founded in 2004, RJ Produce is a produce wholesaler that has established relationships with growers directly from Mexico and domestically, and is a key sourcing channel for premium fruits and vegetables nationwide. Its branded products are sold at nationwide retailers, among them Costco and Restaurant Depot.
According to Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket: "Growers in the RJ Produce network take pride in what they produce and hold their products to the highest standards. Their commitment to quality and exceptional service is a guarantee to each and every customer that they can always expect the best food safety and quality. RJ Produce works with an incredible variety of valued growers year-round and offers efficient solutions to support them. I am excited to welcome the RJ Produce team to the GrubMarket family as we further strengthen our position in Texas. Together, we will build a greater customer base and a stronger supplier network in the food ecosystem nationwide."
"We are excited to join the GrubMarket family and embrace the new growth opportunities that GrubMarket's technology and network will bring,” added Rick Gorena, founder of McAllen, Texas-based RJ Produce. “We are committed to developing and maintaining long-term partnerships and upholding our reputation of quality, integrity and sound business practices with customers, growers and logistics partners. We are thrilled to learn that GrubMarket shares this same mission of supporting growers and serving customers with the highest standard. We sincerely look forward to joining the GrubMarket team. Together, we look to grow RJ Produce to the next level of success."
Continuing to be managed by its current leadership team, RJ Produce will now be able to use GrubMarket's proprietary WholesaleWare software suite, the company's software-as-a-service platform providing food industry suppliers and vendors with financial management, online ordering and sales, inventory management and engaging customer relationship management tools.
Earlier in the year, GrubMarket acquired Bengard Marketing Inc., a provider of domestic and imported specialty fruits directly from sustainable growers in Chile, Argentina, Peru and New Zealand, as well as the United States. Los Angeles-based Bengard is one of the top two biggest providers of South American cherries and stone fruits on the West Coast.
San Francisco-based food technology startup GrubMarket operates in the food e-commerce space and provides related technologies to solve inefficiencies in the American food supply chain. It operates in California, Washington, Texas, Michigan, New York and Massachusetts, with plans to expand to other parts of the country. In fact, GrubMarket secured $90 million in 2020 in new funding to drive a growth strategy that Xu believes can someday result in annual sales of $100 billion.
