GrubMarket Makes Its 10th Fresh-Food Supplier Acquisition Since 2021

Acquisitive food-tech company GrubMarket completed its purchase of produce provider Quality Fruit & Vegetable Co., its 10th such deal in just over a year, the company announced Tuesday.

The latest acquisition expands GrubMarket’s network of fresh food suppliers and its presence in the Southwest. Quality Fruit & Vegetable is based in Albuquerque, N.M., and El Paso, Texas. It marks GrubMarket’s entrance into New Mexico.

GrubHub uses its network and proprietary technology to work with both consumers and retailers to source local produce.

QF&V was founded more than 35 years ago and has hundreds of retail and foodservice customers across the United States and Mexico, the company said.

GrubMarket shares QF&V’s goals and work ethic, QF&V owner and President Nick Delgado said in a statement, adding that his company is looking forward to joining GrubMarket’s “robust technology platform and strong e-commerce network.”

“(It) will allow us to tap into a best-in-class grower network across North and South America and become an even more reputable and reliable fresh food distributor for our customers across the U.S. and Mexico,” Delgado said.

Acquiring QF&V gives GrubMarket access to “a key distribution region for food in the Southwest corridor of the United States,” GrubMarket CEO Mike Xu said.

San Francisco-based GrubMarket, which was founded in 2014 and is an online wholesale and direct-to-consumer grocer, has been scooping up other companies in recent months. It acquired nine companies last year alone.

In 2020, GrubMarket completed a $90 million Series D funding round. At the time, the company said the money would help it expand around the country.

In October, the tech company acquired Shapiro-Gilman-Shandler Produce, a more-than-100-year-old produce and dairy provider in the greater Los Angeles area.

Last August, GrubMarket bought West Coast produce supplier Grant J. Hunt. Earlier that year, GrubMarket completed acquisitions of several other fresh-food suppliers, including New York-based Terminal Produce, St. Louis-based Vaccaro & Sons, and McAllen, Texas-based RJ Produce.

GrubMarket’s new acquisitions are able to use the company’s proprietary WholesaleWare software suite for financial and inventory management, as well as lot traceability, logistics tools, online ordering and more.

The company currently operates in all 50 states, as well as several countries, with aggressive expansion plans.