GrubMarket Acquires Philadelphia Wholesaler to Expand Further in Pennsylvania

We are thrilled to announce that we have acquired PA China Farm (“PA”), a prominent wholesale distribution business based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. PA sells a wide variety of fruits and vegetables but is best known for its specialty exotic goods like black cabbage, baby bok choy, napa cabbage, papaya, and durian, as well as yogurt, tofu, and other products sourced from a global network that includes the U.S., Mexico, Uruguay, South Africa, Spain, Morocco, and Thailand.

Founded by former grower Tony Lin in 1998, PA has cultivated long-standing relationships with a diverse array of supermarkets, food service businesses, and ethnic retail stores over the past 25 years. It is recognized as a major player in the Northeast food supply ecosystem, supplying customers from Boston all the way down to Maryland and Virginia. Today, PA operates a sprawling warehouse facility that spans nearly 50,000 square feet in space and includes different temperature zones, along with 9 separate coolers to accommodate their wide variety of fresh offerings. After the acquisition, the business will continue to be managed by its current accomplished and mission-driven leadership team, who will continue prioritizing quality and service to provide their customers with a superior produce supply experience.

“I am a second-generation American born to immigrant parents. My dream has always been to build a business where I could provide anyone with specialty produce that would remind them of home. I am proud to be able to source fresh produce from all over the world and help build an agricultural community focused on sharing different cultural and culinary backgrounds. What really excites me about joining GrubMarket is this shared sense of family and community-building through fresh and healthy food. Mike and his team’s vision to streamline the food supply chain through eCommerce and software is sorely needed, and I’m looking forward to leveraging GrubMarket’s technology and network to provide more globally sourced specialty goods to GrubMarket’s customers nationwide,” said Tony Lin, owner of PA China Farm.

Our CEO Mike Xu adds: “Tony and his team have built an amazing fresh produce business with an outstanding reputation that extends throughout the Northeast food supply chain. Many of their loyal customers have been with them for decades, which is a testament to their long-standing commitment to the fresh produce industry and their service-oriented approach to success. Equally impressive is the global supply network that the PA team has cultivated, which allows them to source exotic and unique items from regions like Mexico, South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and even Western Europe, among other areas. Their determination to provide “quality from the ground up” and passion for bringing globally sourced produce to the U.S. are some of the same fundamental value drivers that have made GrubMarket so impactful. This acquisition enables GrubMarket to reinforce our Northeast presence, particularly in Pennsylvania, and strengthen our global sourcing capabilities.”

As a part of GrubMarket’s portfolio, PA will utilize GrubMarket’s innovative and proprietary WholesaleWare software suite, the company’s software-as-a-service platform that provides food industry wholesalers and distributors with seamless financial management, powerful sales and online ordering features, precise inventory management, lot traceability, grower accounting, and automated routing and logistics, as well as Orders IO, GrubMarket’s custom branded mobile eCommerce solution.

Welcome to the GrubMarket family, Tony and the PA China Farm team!