Miami — Sunburst Farms Inc., a leading importer and distributor of fresh cut flowers, announced that they have received funding that will enable them to expand the company’s premium diverse floral product offerings. Based in Miami, the company has an established forty-year history of providing its wholesale and mass market florists with top quality products and branded marketing support. The funding comes from Advantage Capital Partners, a venture capital and small business finance firm, along with several other private investors including Juan Carlos Hannaford.
“We felt very strongly that we needed partners that would provide the capital required to invest in our long-term strategic initiatives to help our customers grow their businesses. This funding will help us to expand our procurement base to include flowers grown from worldwide sources in Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and even the U.S.A,” noted Geno Valdes, President of Sunburst Farms who led the management-backed buyout. “We will now be focused on becoming a market driven importer vs. a purely production driven company.”
As part of the purchase of the distribution company from the Nannetti family, the Company will also lease or contract grow on several farms in Colombia that have provided top quality flowers, produced adhering to detailed product specifications, for many years. This will establish a continued flow of product from established farms, while the company expands its sourcing capabilities to augment that base. In addition, Sunburst invested over $2.5 million in order to own and control its Miami headquarters office and distribution facility, previously owned by the Dole Food Company.
“Sunburst Farms has a solid and respected management team, excellent customer base and an existing platform to expand the business,” said Philip Marshall, principal at Advantage Capital Partners.
"My father was one of the original co-founders of Sunburst more than forty years ago, and my family is pleased to support Geno Valdes and his team as the company expands,” noted new investor Juan Carlos Hannaford.
Below is a summary of what this transaction means to Sunburst Farms customers:
– Sunburst Farms (“SBF”) will continue to be operated by its existing management team. The company’s flower purchases are independent of any single grower operation, enabling purchases of the highest quality flowers at the best prices from growers around the globe.
– The company will refocus its efforts to build its wholesale florist business and continue to grow its mass-market channel by providing customer-centric products and services.
– A long term sourcing agreement has been created with several established farms in Colombia, to ensure that key products would still be sourced from these farms.
– An infusion of significant operating cash flow will grow the company’s premium diverse floral product offerings as well as investing in marketing and product development.
– Additional farm procurement and quality assurance capabilities in Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Holland and the U.S. will ensure consistent quality, cut stages, packing and customer compliance at the source. This will also allow greater product availability and direct sourcing from worldwide suppliers.
– Greater purchasing power will allow for competitive pricing to our customers, based on varied suppliers’ production peaks and valleys.
– SBF will have an ability to develop new and unique bouquet programs by including bulb and other flower types from various sources, extending beyond Colombia/South American product offerings.
– SBF offers a full service marketing department to provide customers with innovative, value-added services in merchandising program development.
– The company is proud to have one of the most experienced and dedicated sales teams in the industry, with perishables experience ranging from 8 to 31 years.
– The company has partnered with a large commercial air carrier to continue to charter aircraft which has appointed scheduling by Sunburst Farms for fresh deliveries six days a week from South America.
Sunburst Farms, established in 1969, is one of the largest importers, distributors and marketers of fresh cut flowers in the world. For more than 40 years, the brand Sunburst Farms has been synonymous with a commitment to consistently providing premium quality products and value-added, customer-centric services. www.sunburstfarms.com
Advantage Capital Partners provides equity and debt capital, along with value-added counsel and other support, to operating businesses that have the potential for excellent investor returns as well as significant community impact. For more information, please visit www.advantagecap.com
Source: Sunburst Farms
