GrubMarket Acquires Best Oriental Produce, the Largest Asian Squash Provider in the U.S.

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Jul 31, 2024, 09:01 ET

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.