GrubMarket Strengthens Produce Offering With Another Acquisition

Adding to its handful of produce acquisitions made this year, food technology company GrubMarket is continuing its dominance in fresh fruits and vegetables by acquiring West Coast produce wholesaler Grant J. Hunt Co.

GrubMarket provides e-commerce services for businesses and consumers, as well as offering related software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to solve inefficiencies in the American food supply chain.

"We are excited that a highly influential business in the produce world with almost 100 years of history just joined us,” said Mike Xu, CEO of San Francisco-based GrubMarket. “The talented team at Grant Hunt is a true value-added partner for their customers and producers. This acquisition enables GrubMarket to further strengthen its producer relationships on the West Coast in many specialty categories. … Together, we will build a greater customer base and a stronger producer network in the food ecosystem nationwide, and make a bigger impact on the evolution and digital transformation of the American food supply chain industry."

With offices in Northern California and Washington state, Grant Hunt supplies a wide range of both year-round and seasonal products, including apples, pears, cherries, potatoes, onions, berries and citrus. Through its Oakport Transportation division, Grant Hunt ships produce to California, the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia and Nevada, plus selected routes throughout the United States for certain seasonal items. The company works with many customers ranging from supermarkets to restaurants and other retailers. After the acquisition, Grant Hunt will continue to be managed by its current leadership team.

"We are excited to join the GrubMarket family and embrace the new growth opportunities that GrubMarket's technology and network offer," said Sal Rizzo and Maurice Protzen, general managers of Oakland, Calif.-based Grant Hunt. "We work directly with growers to develop compelling messages and deliver them effectively to their target audience. We look forward to joining GrubMarket's technology-enabled platform. Together, we aim to take Grant Hunt to the next level of success."

Grant Hunt will be able to use GrubMarket's proprietary WholesaleWare software suite, the company's SaaS platform providing food industry suppliers and vendors with financial management, online ordering and sales, precise inventory management, and engaging CRM tools.

GrubMarket has been busy this year acquiring various produce companies, among them Terminal Produce, Sierra Produce, Vaccaro & Sons, RJ Produce Inc., and Bengard Marketing Inc. The ultimate goal is that GrubMarket eventually grows to more than $100 billion in annual sales, with an initial public offering in the near future, as recently mentioned by Xu in an interview with Produce Blue Book.

GrubMarket currently operates in California, Washington, Texas, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Massachusetts, Oregon and Arizona, with plans to expand to other parts of the country.