Sunrise Fresh Produce LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Merchants Foodservice, is pleased to announce the completion of our acquisition of certain assets from Emerald Coast Finest Produce located in Pensacola, Florida. The closing, completed January 18, 2013, enables Sunrise Fresh Produce to operate their third produce distribution center as Sunrise Produce Gulf Coast.
With the acquisition, Sunrise Produce Gulf Coast will have a 40,000 square-foot facility. The warehouse is climate controlled with seven separate temperature zones to ensure the freshness of product for our customers.
Sunrise Fresh Produce LLC. VP of Operation, Mr. Michael O’Brien will oversee the transition of the acquired produce distribution center and long time foodservice industry expert, Michael Murphy has been retained as General Manager of Sunrise Produce Gulf Coast.
Sunrise Produce Gulf Coast serves approximately 400 customers throughout the Florida Panhandle market with produce, eggs, and dairy products. Mr. O’Brien commented, “We look forward to being a strong business partner providing quality services and products to make our customers lives easier as well as bringing stability to produce distribution in the Florida Panhandle. By adding another location we can handle customers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and South Georgia. Food safety and partnerships are core factors when we go to market. We also look forward to contributing to the community and economy of the area.”
Sunrise Fresh Produce is headquartered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with locations in Jackson, Mississippi and Jacksonville, Florida. President and CEO, Mr. Andy Mercier commented, “We are very excited about the growth of Sunrise Fresh Produce LLC. We believe Sunrise Produce Gulf Coast will realize significant growth through superior services and products. Adding this location to our distribution network improves our purchasing power which will be beneficial to all our foodservice customers.”
Sunrise Fresh Produce is a member of the national produce distribution organization, PRO*ACT, LLC. PRO*ACT is America’s leading distributor of fresh produce to the foodservice industry.
About Sunrise Fresh Produce L.L.C.
Sunrise Fresh Produce (www.sunrisefreshproduce.com) has distribution centers located in Jackson, Mississippi, Jacksonville, Florida and Pensacola, Florida. Annual produce sales exceed $35,000,000. Customers include independent restaurants, national chain restaurants, private clubs, assisted living centers, and institutional food service operators.
About PRO*ACT: PRO*ACT is America’s leading distributor of fresh produce to the foodservice industry sourcing from premier national and regional farmers. PRO*ACT streamlines the produce supply chain, offering significant cost benefits and an easy, one-call solution to source the freshest produce from more than 70 third-party inspected, independently owned, local distribution centers across the United States and Canada. PRO*ACT provides category cost management through commodity contract pricing, in-house consultation services and integrated produce program distribution management.
About Merchants Foodservice
Merchants Foodservice (www.merchantsfoodservice.com) is a leading broad line foodservice distributor with four distribution centers across the Southeast. Merchants Foodservice serves over 6,000 foodservice customers through ten Southeastern states. Tailored inventory management solutions and access to over 8,000 products has resulted in Merchants Foodservice consistently being recognized as one of the fastest growing foodservice distributors in the country.
Source: Sunrise Fresh Produce
