TORONTO – Toronto’s Fresh City, an award-winning urban farm and omni-channel retailer, announced today that it has acquired Mabel’s Bakery & Specialty Foods. Mabel’s was a clear fit for Fresh City, with both companies focusing on high sourcing standards of local and organic ingredients. The Mabel’s product line enhances Fresh City’s core offering of fresh organic groceries and meals, with artisanal breads, baked goods and an expanded ready-made meal offering. The Mabel’s retail locations will continue to operate under the Mabel’s name and all staff were retained.
Over the past 10 years, Mabel’s grew to four stores and had maxed out production capacity. They knew they needed more support to grow to the next level. Lorraine Hawley, co-founder of Mabel’s with her husband Bob Warburton, said “We approached Ran, and after our initial discussions we were very confident that all of our hopes for Mabel’s ongoing growth, continued commitment to delicious, quality, local food and to our staff would carry on. We are very excited that with the help of Fresh City, we’ll continue to improve our organic and local sourcing, be able to add to our current offerings, and make more of our products available to more customers.” Hawley will join Fresh City’s senior management team and will continue to steer the future of the Mabel’s brand. Bob Warburton will be retiring in May 2019.
Ran Goel, Founder & CEO of Fresh City said, “Our discussions with Lorraine and Bob confirmed everything I suspected from the outside. Mabel’s is committed to quality production, to local sourcing, to treating their staff well, and to being a solid community business. We are excited to be joining forces with Mabel’s and I am so happy that Lorraine is staying to ensure continuity and help propel our prepared food program to the next level.”
An increasing number of Mabel’s products are now at Fresh City stores, and Fresh City ready-to-eat items are available at Mabel’s stores. “As we continue to integrate our systems over the next several months, customers will begin to see more and more Mabel’s products available as a part of our home delivery service,” said Goel. The acquisition will also provide Fresh City with the ability to add new product lines – leveraging the talent and expertise from the teams at Mabel’s.
Over the next few weeks, Fresh City will be building an extension to their kitchen facilities on Samor Road in Toronto to accommodate Mabel’s production. It also provides an excellent opportunity to continue to reduce food waste by combining production teams and pulling from the same inventory.
About Mabel’s:
Mabel’s Bakery opened its doors on Roncesvalles in October of 2008. Having lived in the neighborhood for several years, founders Lorraine Hawley and her husband, Bob Warburton, noticed a need in the area for a shop that offered great tasting foods that are of high quality. With this in mind, Mabel’s chose to specialize in homestyle baked goods, prepared foods, ready meals and artisan breads and cheeses. Mabel’s uses only the highest quality ingredients, choosing local or organic options whenever possible, with no preservatives or artificial flavouring.
About Fresh City
Fresh City is an award-winning urban farm and omni-channel retailer. They deliver organic produce, prepared foods and meal kits to thousands of Toronto area families weekly. Fresh City also has two stores in Toronto (111 Ossington Avenue & 476 Roncesvalles Avenue) and a third opening this fall (at Bay & Gerrard). The company works with like-minded makers to deliver a food experience that respects our bodies, our planet and our shared tomorrow. Fresh City was founded by Ran Goel in 2011 after leaving his Wall Street lawyer job to help change the way people think about and shop for food. www.freshcityfarms.com
