BETHESDA, Md. & EVANSTON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rotunda Capital Partners ("Rotunda"), an operationally focused, lower middle-market private equity investment firm, is pleased to announce the sale of FreshEdge, LLC ("FreshEdge" or the “Company”), a leading fresh foods distributor, to Wind Point Partners, LLC.
Rotunda invested in FreshEdge in 2017 through its predecessor, the IF&P Foods family of companies, primarily composed of Indianapolis Fruit and Piazza Produce. FreshEdge was formed in 2019 through the combination of IF&P and Get Fresh Produce. Since its formation, FreshEdge has become one of the largest independent fresh food distributors in the United States and a category leader in providing both the foodservice and retail industries with fruit, vegetables, proteins, fresh-cut produce, fresh grab-n-go offerings, dairy, floral, and specialty products.
Since partnering with Rotunda, FreshEdge has achieved transformational growth. Through seven acquisitions and strategic operational investments, the Company has nearly quintupled in size to become a super-regional distributor serving 21 states out of 25 facilities that span approximately 795,000 square feet of warehouse space.
"The FreshEdge story is a great example of Rotunda partnering with a first-class management team to transform a family-owned company into a data-driven acquisition platform,” said Corey Whisner, partner at Rotunda.
Dan Lipson, partner at Rotunda added, “During our partnership, we invested to expand the Company’s leadership team, developed corporate infrastructure and systems, and assisted in the execution and integration of seven add-on acquisitions.”
Rohit Dhake, principal at Rotunda, continued, “We are extremely proud of what FreshEdge has become and believe they have an exciting future.”
Steve Grinstead, CEO, and Greg Corsaro, president, will continue to lead the business with the existing management team.
Grinstead said, "Through our partnership with Rotunda we have never strayed from our core value as a customer-obsessed distributor providing customized service to deliver the freshest product in market.”
“The Rotunda team provided us with the operational tools, distribution expertise and acquisition assistance to help the Company get to where it is today,” said Corsaro. “With this foundational support, we believe FreshEdge is well positioned for significant continued expansion.”
The Rotunda team included Corey Whisner, Dan Lipson, Rohit Dhake, Brian Kim, Nathan Bertsch and Pat Davidson. Harris Williams served as financial advisor, and Greenberg Traurig, LLP as legal counsel to FreshEdge.
About FreshEdge
FreshEdge was formed in 2019 through the combination of Get Fresh Produce (founded 1982) and the IF&P Foods family of companies, primarily composed of Indianapolis Fruit (founded 1947) and Piazza Produce (founded 1970). McCartney Produce (Paris, TN) joined the FreshEdge family in November 2020 followed by Valley Produce (Knoxville, TN) in June 2021, Vine Line (Grand Rapids, MI) in October 2021, Monteverde’s (Pittsburgh, PA) in November 2021 and City Produce (Fort Walton, FL) in May 2022. Collectively, these leading fresh food distribution companies have over 500 years of combined experience serving the grocery and food service industries. For more information, visit www.freshedgefoods.com.
About Rotunda Capital Partners
Rotunda Capital Partners is an operationally oriented private equity firm focused on transforming family-founder owned companies into dynamic, data-driven platforms able to achieve and manage significant growth. Since its founding in 2009, Rotunda has partnered with management teams to build great businesses within three primary sectors: value-added distribution, asset-light logistics and industrial & business services. Rotunda strives to achieve replicable results by implementing its Rotunda Performance System to create strategic alignment, develop lean processes and create robust, data-driven infrastructures. For more information, visit www.rotundacapital.com.
