Grubmarket acquires Rainfield Marketing Group

GrubMarket has announced the acquisition of Rainfield Marketing Group, a fresh produce distributor that sources high quality fruits, vegetables, and Asian specialty suppliers across the US, Mexico, Korea and other global locations.

Founded in 2015, the California-based Rainfield Marketing Group is run by original owner, Richard Choe, a ten-year veteran of the fresh produce space, alongside President Greg Emi, an experienced produce executive with over two decades of experience.

Today, Rainfield Marketing Group is a full-service food distribution and wholesale business with state-of-the-art climate and humidity-controlled warehouse facilities covering over 150,000ft², it sells to sells to hundreds of large grocery retailers, multi-unit restaurant groups, foodservice companies, and wholesale customers across the US.

Though it sells dozens of products, including specialty items like Okinawa sweet potato, enoki mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and various Korean radish varieties, Rainfield Marketing Group is best known for being one of the largest shippers of green onions in the US through its Sakura private label.

“Rainfield’s mission is to be the specialty produce grower and shipper of choice across the country through exceptional service, consistent quality, and second-to-none food safety standards. We are thrilled to join the GrubMarket team, who shares our goals and embodies the qualities needed to build a thriving food business,” said Choe.

“We are also excited to access GrubMarket’s impressive grower network and leverage their incomparable eCommerce and technology-enabled platform to continue bringing high-quality fresh produce and specialty items to GrubMarket’s end customers.”

Mike Xu, chief executive of GrubMarket said the acquisition enables GrubMarket to further strengthen its presence in California and expand its global sourcing power. 

“Rainfield Marketing Group has built a best-in-class reputation for being a top provider of exotic and specialty fresh produce, most notably green onions, peaches, and persimmons. They are one of the most influential and well-known Asian produce distributors in California and supply many big grocery and restaurant chains, including most of the top Asian supermarkets in the country,” said Xu.

“Richard and his team have done a wonderful job scaling the company to double-digit, year-over-year revenue growth while maintaining a sterling reputation in food safety, having received most of the top food safety certifications.”