A Strategic Move to Broaden Reach and Enhance Fresh Produce Accessibility
IMMOKALEE, FL – Lipman Family Farms, a leading integrated network of growers, fresh-cut processors, and distributors of fresh produce, proudly announces its strategic expansion with the acquisition of Northeast Produce. This move marks Lipman’s 12th acquisition in the last 20 years, reinforcing its commitment to continuous growth and innovation.
The acquisition underscores Lipman’s dedication to creating fresh produce that is accessible to all. With farming as the root of the company’s foundation, it is the source of Lipman’s strength to provide fresh foods reliably, efficiently, and consistently every day of the year.
“We are thrilled to welcome Northeast Produce into our Lipman family,” shared Elyse Lipman, CEO of Lipman Family Farms. “This acquisition represents our growth-focused strategy, allowing us to better serve our customers by providing high-quality fresh produce across an expanded geographical area.”
Lipman continues, “With the global population now over 8 billion, the demand for fresh produce will continue to grow. The best we can do as suppliers of fresh vegetables is to meet the moment, invest in services, infrastructure, and partnerships that can make produce available and safe for everyone across our network to our network. We need to make sure that we’re growing in a way that makes produce accessible, affordable, and attainable for generations to come.”
As Lipman Family Farms continues to evolve and expand, special attention is being given to ensuring a smooth and integrated transition of company cultures. Emphasizing the importance of maintaining a cohesive and collaborative environment, Lipman aims to combine the strengths of both organizations to create a unified and stronger entity.
“We’re honored to be working with an organization such as Lipman Family Farms,” shared Mike Melninkaitis, previous Owner of Northeast Produce. “Our companies’ cultural alignment and shared vision has us excited for the future as one team.” Melninkaitis will be taking on the role as Business Development Manager for Lipman in the northeast.
“This new venture allows us to strengthen our relationships with our customers and bolsters Northeast Produce’s strong roots in quality and service,” Joe Ruffini, former owner of Northeast Produce, explains. Joe will continue to manage the sales out of the Plainville, CT facility.
The Northeast Produce facility in Plainville will continue to operate and service customers under the Lipman umbrella. For Lipman and Northeast Produce customers, this acquisition signifies extended reach and enhanced service to supplying the northeast US.
For more information about Lipman Family Farms, visit www.lipmanfamilyfarms.com.
ABOUT LIPMAN FAMILY FARMS
By creating authentic connections between our employees, customers, and communities for over 75 years, Lipman Family Farms has become one of the nation’s largest integrated networks of growers, fresh-cut processors, and distributors of fresh produce. We pride ourselves in being an international company that remains family-owned, ensuring our ability to act as good stewards of our land and our people, creating growth that nourishes everyone. We are large enough to be local everywhere and are dedicated to being good from the ground up, providing solutions in research & development, field growing, greenhouse growing, procuring, packing, repacking, fresh-cut processing, distributing, food safety, and culinary development. Learn more at LipmanFamilyFarms.com.
