Online Grocer GrubMarket Acquires Produce Wholesaler Grant J. Hunt

Online wholesale and direct-to-consumer grocer GrubMarket has completed its eighth acquisition of the year, buying West Coast produce supplier Grant J. Hunt. 

Grant J. Hunt, founded in 1934, supplies apples, pears, cherries, potatoes, onions, berries and citrus fruits to buyers throughout California and the Pacific Northwest as well as Nevada. Financial terms of the deal with San Francisco-based GrubMarket were not disclosed. Grant J. Hunt's current leadership team will continue to manage the organization.

"This acquisition enables GrubMarket to further strengthen its producer relationships on the West Coast in many specialty categories," GrubMarket CEO Mike Xu said in a news release. With Grant J. Hunt, he added, GrubMarket will be able to "make a bigger impact on the evolution and digital transformation of the American food supply chain."

In February, GrubMarket announced that it had completed a $90 million Series D funding round. The company counts Whole Foods Market, Kroger, Albertsons, Sprouts Farmers Market and Raley's Market stores among its retail customers; in total, according to the company, GrubMarket serves more than 5,000 grocery stores, 8,000 restaurants and 2,000 corporate offices. Earlier this 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 was founded in 2014 and serves both consumers and businesses looking to source from local farmers. With offices in California and Washington, GrubMarket now delivers in select markets in those two states as well as Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Massachusetts, Oregon and Arizona.

Consumers can buy items from GrubMarket a la carte or select from a range of "FarmBoxes" featuring seasonal produce and, optionally, bread, eggs, juice, cheese and/or other locally produced items. FarmBoxes are priced at around $35 to $115 and can be delivered on a one-time basis or weekly, bimonthly or monthly.

"Lack of time and access should never be a barrier between you and healthy, delicious and freshly-harvested food," GrubMarket states on its website. The grocer, along with fellow local foods-focused, direct-to-consumer players, including Market Wagon and Farmstead, is seeking to seize on strong consumer interest—especially among millennials and Gen Z consumers—in buying local and aims to boost long-established producers' tech capabilities to better connect with a wider range of buyers. 

GrubMarket's WholesaleWare cloud platform, the company touts, offers suppliers tools for more-efficient financial management, online ordering, inventory management and customer relationship management.