GrubMarket expands further into South Africa through acquisition of Global Produce

GrubMarket acquires Global Produce, a highly respected global fresh produce supplier with operations in South Africa, Asia, Europe and other regions, to further expand in South Africa and strengthen its footprint in the global food supply chain industry.

30/04/2024

SAN FRANCISCO - GrubMarket announced that it has completed the acquisition of Global Produce, based in Cape Town, South Africa, a fresh produce company that sources and distributes a wide range of fruits South African to supermarkets, restaurants, retailers, wholesalers and online businesses. Customers in 44 countries around the world. Known primarily for its year-round supply of grapes and citrus, Global Produce It also sells dozens of other products, including apples, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, plums, pumpkins, pears, mangoes and bananas. It also sells exotic items such as Malaysian dragon fruit, Namibian Barhi dates and Belgian PiqaBoo pears.

Global Produce was founded in 2013 by fresh fruit industry veteran and international business expert, Rutger Van Wulfen, who continues to run the business today. Today, Global Produce has impressive international operations, with offices in Cape Town, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City, and a supplier base spanning South Africa, Namibia, Morocco, Egypt, New Zealand, Australia and other regions around the world. . Global Produce also supports local farmers across Africa through a vertical integration initiative that connects them directly to end markets, packaging products under its GEO brand. This reduces the number of players in the supply chain and alleviates the increasing pressures that farmers face due to rising input costs and high marketing costs. Following the acquisition, the business will continue to be managed by its current experienced, mission-driven and geographically diverse leadership team.

“Food is a relationship business – our foundation is built on trust, loyalty and service. We are truly proud to offer the highest quality South African fruits to our valued customers around the world including Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Maldives, Philippines, India, East and West Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East. Our vertically integrated approach to food distribution, which includes putting troops on the ground in key local markets as well as staying very close to the origins of our supply, allows us to maximize profits for our farmers while offering lower prices. and higher volumes of fresh products. fruit to our end customers. Our growing GEO brand also allows us to work directly with local farmers under the Global Farmers brand to bring fresh produce as close as possible to our end customers. I have followed the GrubMarket story for many years and am incredibly excited to join this successful, globally oriented company that approaches the food supply chain with a similar philosophy and work ethic. We are proud to represent GrubMarket in South Africa and look forward to expanding GrubMarket's global reach and bringing more South African fruits to GrubMarket's end customers,” said Rutger Van Wulfen, owner of Global Produce.

Mike XuExecutive Director GrubMarket, adds: “The acquisition of Global Produce marks a pivotal moment in GrubMarket's journey, as we continue to expand our physical presence internationally and grow our operations in South Africa.

Mike Xu – CEO and founder of GrubMarket Inc.

I have been impressed by Rutger's extensive international experience living in cities such as the Netherlands, Cape Town, Rotterdam, Jakarta and even Hong Kong; Without a doubt, his multicultural background has played a central role in Global Produce's ability to reach customers in more than 40 countries, including those in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. We look forward to working with the Global Produce team to strengthen our global position in the food supply chain and work more closely with farmers and producers across South Africa. “We are delighted to welcome the Global Produce team to the GrubMarket family.”

As part of the GrubMarket portfolio, Global Produce will use GrubMarket's innovative AI-powered WholesaleWare software suite, the company's software-as-a-service platform that provides food industry wholesalers and distributors with seamless financial management, a powerful sales support, online ordering, accurate inventory management, batch traceability, producer accounting, and automated routing and logistics; GrubAssist, GrubMarket's innovative enterprise AI assistant that provides food supply chain companies with deep insights and intelligent analytics; and Orders IO, GrubMarket's custom-branded mobile e-commerce solution.

About GrubMarket

Founded in 2014, California-based GrubMarket is the AI-powered technology enabler and digital transformer of the American food supply chain industry, as well as one of the largest privately held food technology companies in the world.

As a pioneer in the technology-driven B2B food e-commerce space and a pioneer in delivering cutting-edge AI-powered software-as-a-service solutions, GrubMarket uses AI-powered technology to fundamentally transform the US and global food supply chain. GrubMarket has also been named to the prestigious CNBC Disruptor 50 list. GrubMarket operates in all 50 US states and has a global presence in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, South Africa and Spain, with plans to expand further in the US, Canada, South America, Europe and Africa. and other parts of the world.