Shore Capital Partners has formed Produce One, a specialty produce distribution platform, through a partnership with Premier ProduceOne and the acquisition of Native Maine Produce.
The platform combines Premier ProduceOne’s statewide distribution coverage across Ohio with Native Maine’s Northeast-focused distribution network across Maine, Connecticut and New York. Shore Capital plans to partner with additional produce companies.
Foundation companies
Premier ProduceOne was founded in 1948 by the Pavlofsky family and built in partnership with Tony Anselmo and Anthony Rossi to provide distribution coverage across Ohio. The third and fourth generation Pavlofskys will continue leading the PPO division alongside Shore Capital. Headquartered in Columbus with additional facilities in Cleveland and Dayton, the company partners with restaurants, healthcare providers, schools and other foodservice customers.
Native Maine was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Westbrook, Maine. The company distributes fresh produce and specialty foods to restaurant, institutional and wholesale customers. Native Maine operates through three business units: Native Maine, Carbonella & DeSarbo, and Brophy Brothers.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Gary and Ervin Pavlofsky to build a leading specialty produce distribution and processing business in the Midwest and Eastern United States,” said Jeff Smart, partner at Shore Capital.
“PPO and Native Maine have built impressive organizations grounded in customer service, consistent high quality, and competitive pricing. We will work hard to build on the historical success the founders have achieved while carrying forward the unique family business cultures and continuous improvement mindset that has led to this point.”
Tom Wienclaw will lead Produce One as CEO, bringing 20 years of foodservice distribution experience to the platform.
Growth strategy
Produce One will invest in sales and marketing, procurement, technology systems and warehouse and distribution infrastructure to enhance operations and explore new growth avenues. The company will also pursue inorganic growth through add-on acquisition partnerships to expand geographic coverage, category depth and channel and format capabilities.
“Our partnership with Shore Capital will allow us to accelerate our organic growth through new customer acquisition, product and category expansion and exploring opportunities to support our current and future customers with value-added processing capabilities,” said Ervin Pavlofsky, third generation PPO owner and business development leader.
“We are confident that Shore’s playbook and resources will help us take the platform to the next level, as we look to build on our existing business while also exploring add-on partnership opportunities with other distribution and processing companies in the Midwest and Eastern U.S.”
Shore Capital Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm with offices in Nashville. The firm invests in lower middle market companies in healthcare, food and beverage, business services, industrial and real estate industries.
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