SAN
FRANCISCO, July 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GrubMarket,
the first-mover in tech-enabled B2B food eCommerce and a pioneer in
Enterprise AI solutions for America's food supply chain industry,
today announced it has completed the acquisition of Vernon, CA-based Best Oriental Produce, a
widely respected company in the fresh produce industry that owns a
700-hectare farming operation across California and Mexico, where it produces the highest quality
vegetables year-round. In addition to being the largest Asian
squash provider in the U.S., Best Oriental Produce is also the
single largest importer of young coconut from Thailand into the U.S. and the largest Chinese
eggplant grower worldwide. Best Oriental Produce grows and ships
over 46,000 cases of Chinese eggplant each month, moving up to 10
full truckloads a day from Mexico.
Founded over 35 years ago by fresh produce veteran Ben Charoensuk, Best Oriental Produce is now a
large-scale produce import and export business that grows a wide
variety of Asian produce, such as bitter melon, Chinese eggplant,
long bean, and Asian squash, across broad open field farms and
greenhouse facilities. They also operate a PrimusGFS-certified
warehouse facility that spans nearly 25,000 square feet and offers
state-of-the-art refrigeration capabilities. Best Oriental Produce
proudly serves many of the most popular and well-known supermarket
and retail chains across California, New
York, Chicago, and
Florida, as well as other regions
throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The company's tireless focus on quality and service has allowed it
to cultivate decades-long relationships with many of its top
customers, allowing Best Oriental Produce to stay highly profitable
since its inception. After the acquisition, the business will
continue to be managed by its current experienced, mission-driven,
and highly capable leadership team.
"I have been passionate about growing and providing delicious
Asian fruits and vegetables to a wide consumer base ever since I
moved to the U.S. from Thailand
nearly 40 years ago," said Ben
Charoensuk, owner of Best Oriental Produce. "When I started
this business, I never expected it to grow as big as it has become.
Today, we are the largest Chinese eggplant grower in the world and
likely the largest Asian produce provider nationwide. We have been
thoughtful and deliberate about our growth strategy, which has
allowed us to optimize for stellar customer service and
long-standing customer relationships. As part of the close-knit
fresh produce community in Southern
California, we have heard amazing things about GrubMarket
for many years and were impressed with their track record of
acquiring only the best and most reputable companies in the
industry. I am excited to combine our dominance in key, high-demand
SKUs, with GrubMarket's enormous scale and technology capabilities,
to help GrubMarket on its journey to being the most impactful food
supply chain company in the world."
Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket, adds:
"Best Oriental Produce is one of the strongest businesses we have
acquired, and Ben is one of the most impressive leaders we have
welcomed to our company. Remarkably, Ben has been able to steer
Best Oriental Produce to a spotless profitability record; in 35
years of existence, the business never lost money and was highly
profitable the entire time. On top of that, Best Oriental Produce
has dominant supply positions across many in-demand items like
Asian squash, Chinese eggplant, and Thai coconuts, and most of its
top customers have been doing business with the company for over 15
years. This acquisition enables GrubMarket to strengthen its
presence in Southern California.
We are thrilled to welcome the Best Oriental Produce team to the
GrubMarket family."
As a part of GrubMarket's portfolio, Best Oriental Produce will
enjoy the advantages offered by GrubMarket's suite of proprietary
technology solutions, including AI-powered ERP software,
WholesaleWare, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that
provides food industry wholesalers, distributors, and shippers with
seamless financial management, powerful sales support, online
ordering, precise inventory management, lot traceability, grower
accounting, and automated routing and logistics; GrubAssist, the
groundbreaking enterprise AI assistant that empowers food supply
chain businesses with deep insights, intelligent analysis, and
automated order processing; Orders IO, a custom branded, mobile
eCommerce solution connecting sellers and buyers; and GrubPay, a
digital payments offering designed specifically for the food supply
chain industry.
About GrubMarket
GrubMarket is the AI-powered
technology enabler and digital transformer of the American food
supply chain industry, as well as one of the largest private food
tech companies globally. As the enterprise AI solutions provider
for the American food supply chain, a first mover in the
tech-enabled B2B food eCommerce space, and a pioneer offering
cutting-edge, AI-powered software-as-a-service solutions,
GrubMarket uses technology to fundamentally transform the American
and global food supply chain. GrubMarket has also been named to the
prestigious CNBC Disruptor 50 list for two consecutive years.
GrubMarket operates in all 50 U.S. States and has a global presence
in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India,
Mexico, South Africa, and Spain, with plans to expand further across the
U.S., Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, and other parts of the world.
For Media Inquiries:
GrubMarket Media Team
media@grubmarket.com
(415) 986-0523
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SOURCE GrubMarket