INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FreshEdge, a family of best-in-class fresh food distribution companies backed by Wind Point Partners, acquired Panama Banana, a wholesaler and distributor of fine produce in the Chicago International Produce Market. For nearly a century, Panama has built a solid reputation as one of Chicago’s leading distributors of fine produce by serving customers with the same focus: a passion for freshness, quality, and ease of doing business that is second to none. Panama is housed in a state-of-the-art facility that offers ripening rooms, cold coolers, climate-controlled docks, produce packaging and repacking, and logistical support.
“We are thrilled to welcome Todd and Deke Pappas and their team to the FreshEdge family,” said Steve Grinstead, CEO of FreshEdge. “With their same commitment to customer service, Panama will be a great addition to our growing group of customer-obsessed distributors.”
“We proudly welcome Panama to FreshEdge,” said Greg Corsaro, President and COO of FreshEdge. “The addition of Panama not only enhances our family, but our pursuit to be the preeminent family of best-in-class fresh food companies.”
Terms of the deal, which closed on May 21, 2023, were not disclosed.
“Our Panama team is thrilled to join FreshEdge,” said Todd Pappas, President of Panama. “This is the next step in increasing our footprint, serving customers with expanded offerings and growing for our future.”
“We are excited for this great opportunity,” said Deke Pappas, COO of Panama. “We look forward to continuing to provide the same unmatched level of service to our customers and are happy to share that Nick Florek will continue his leadership as VP/General Manager.”
Additional information about Panama is available at www.panamabanana.com
FreshEdge now operates 979,800 square feet of warehouse space across 27 facilities with a fleet of more than 947 trucks and more than 2,000 employees.
FreshEdge is backed by Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity investment firm. Panama represents FreshEdge’s second acquisition since Wind Point’s initial investment. Together, Wind Point and FreshEdge intend to continue growing FreshEdge by welcoming more fresh food distribution companies into the group—all focused on high quality produce and specialty food products, along with exceptional service—to create a unique group of complementary entities.
About FreshEdge
FreshEdge was formed in 2019 through the combination of Get Fresh Produce (founded 1982), Indianapolis Fruit (founded 1947) and Piazza Produce (founded 1970). McCartney Produce (Paris, TN) joined FreshEdge 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, City Produce (Fort Walton Beach, FL) in May 2022 and Testa Produce (Chicago, IL) in May 2023. FreshEdge includes a collection of Garden Cut branded fresh-cut processing facilities (Bartlett, Fort Walton Beach, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh), a tomato re-packer, a USDA fresh kitchen (CIBUS Fresh), and two transportation companies. FreshEdge’s footprint spans twenty-one states throughout the Midwest and southeastern United States. Today, FreshEdge is 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 grab-n-go offerings, dairy, floral, and specialty products.
Additional information about FreshEdge is available at www.freshedgefoods.com.
About Wind Point
Wind Point Partners is a Chicago-based private equity investment firm with approximately $5 billion in assets under management. Wind Point focuses on partnering with top-caliber management teams to acquire well-positioned middle market businesses where it can establish a clear path to value creation. The firm targets investments in the consumer products, industrial products and business services sectors. Wind Point is currently investing out of Wind Point Partners X, a fund that was initiated in 2022.
Additional information about Wind Point is available at www.wppartners.com.
