Indianapolis-based food distributor adds Chicago-area company to its fold

Indianapolis-based distributor IF&P Foods has added Chicago-area distributor Get Fresh Produce to its family of companies—and IF&P has larger growth plans in its sights over the next few years.

“We have a pretty aggressive growth plan that includes bringing on additional companies,” said Greg Corsaro, who will serve as president and chief operating officer of the combined group of companies. 

Terms of the Get Fresh deal, which closed on Monday, were not disclosed. 

The acquisition was funded by Bethesda, Maryland-based Rotunda Capital Partners. Rotunda, along with Indianapolis-based Centerfield Capital Partners, invested in IF&P in 2017 and holds a majority stake in the company. Corsaro, along with the five individuals who previously owned IF&P, own the remaining 20.5 percent of the company.

IF&P, one of the largest food distributors in the Midwest, formed in 1997 when Indianapolis Fruit merged with Piazza Produce. The company has about 750 employees, most of whom work locally. It distributes produce, cheeses, spices and other items to retailers in more than 15 contiguous states, mostly in the Midwest and South.

Get Fresh has about 375 employees, with facilities in both the Chicago-area town of Bartlett, Illinois, and in Whitestown, Indiana. It distributes produce, frozen items, dairy products and other items within a 250-mile radius of its Bartlett facility.

“It helps us get a little more penetration into Chicago, Illinois, Wisconsin and parts of Indiana,” Corsaro said of the acquisition. 

Get Fresh will continue to operate under its existing name and with its existing employees and facilities, Corsaro said. “There is no plan at all to reduce any headcount or eliminate any position.”

The Get Fresh acquisition is part of a bigger growth goal for IF&P, which also acquired Noblesville-based Cibus Fresh Inc. last year.

“We would like to be a super-regional total food provider. Our vision is greater than the Midwest, but not national,” Corsaro said.

In coming weeks, Corsaro said, IF&P will announce the formation of a new holding company that will be the corporate parent of the various food distribution companies, including IF&P, Get Fresh and the rest. 

Rotunda Capital will still be the majority owner, Corsaro said, but the holding company will oversee the growth strategy and provide operational support for the various entities.