GrubMarket Acquires Brothers Produce, A Major Foodservice Company in Texas

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Jul 08, 2024, 09:01 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, July 8, 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 Houston, TX-based Brothers Produce, one of the largest and most well-known foodservice distributors in Texas and the broader Southwestern U.S. Brothers Produce currently operates 3 distribution centers across Texas that allow it to serve a full line of fresh fruits and vegetables, specialty goods, and processed items to over 6,000 foodservice, education, restaurant, grocery and retail customers across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi. The impressive scale and efficiency of Brothers Produce's distribution operation enable it to ship over ten million cases of food every year.

Founded as a small family business in the 1980s by fresh produce veteran Martin Erenwert, Brothers Produce is now a full-service food distribution and wholesale business with warehouse facilities in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, and San Antonio, totaling over 250,000 square feet in space and featuring monitored, temperature-controlled cold storage, freezer storage, and dry storage. Brothers Produce also benefits from its robust logistics capabilities, which include an extensive fleet of over 200 vehicles spanning state-of-the-art refrigerated trucks, vans, and trailers designed to preserve product freshness during transit. Each vehicle carries a unique wrap design and serves as a dynamic and impactful advertising platform for the already highly visible Brothers Produce brand. After the acquisition, the business will continue to be managed by its current experienced, mission-driven, and service-oriented leadership team led by Martin and his son, Brent Erenwert, who runs the Houston division.

Martin Erenwert, CEO of Brothers Produce, comments: "Over 40 years ago, I had a dream to build a reputable produce business founded on the principles of taking exceptional care of the customers and hard-working employees who helped us achieve our success. Today, Brothers Produce is one of the most powerful brands in the fresh produce industry, and we are thrilled to join GrubMarket to take our business to the next level. Mike and his team clearly understand our vision, and GrubMarket is one of the fastest-growing, most recognized food companies in the entire country. I feel great knowing that being a part of GrubMarket will allow us to preserve our brand and history while creating a new growth path through vertical integration and technological innovation."

Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket, adds: "Brothers Produce has a sterling reputation in the Texas fresh produce ecosystem, and it is simply incredible how the business grew from a single van operation over 40 years ago to a multi-generational family business doing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales today. Martin, Brent, and the outstanding team at Brothers Produce have truly built a strong and impactful fresh produce business, and we respect their focus on delivering stellar customer service as well as their strong commitment to food safety standards throughout their operations. Brothers Produce is also involved in several local charitable initiatives, which aligns with GrubMarket's commitment to use our success to support environmental and social causes that we care deeply about and promote agricultural sustainability across the country. This acquisition enables GrubMarket to further strengthen our presence across Texas and the Southwestern U.S. We are excited to welcome the Brothers Produce team to the GrubMarket family."

As a part of GrubMarket's portfolio, Brothers Produce will utilize GrubMarket's proprietary, 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, GrubMarket's groundbreaking enterprise AI assistant that empowers food supply chain businesses with deep insights, intelligent analysis, and automated order processing; and Orders IO, GrubMarket's custom branded, mobile eCommerce solution.

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.