Indianapolis produce distributor buys Noblesville food-service company

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Indianapolis-based produce distributor IF&P Foods LLC has acquired Noblesville-based convenience food service company Cibus Fresh Inc., the companies announced Tuesday.

Terms of the deal, which closed July 31, were not disclosed.

IF&P Foods, formed in 1997 by the merger of Indianapolis Fruit and Piazza Produce, is one of the Midwest’ largest produce distributors.

The company has a fleet of over 340 refrigerated trucks servicing more than 14 states from five facilities that have more than 225,000 square feet of warehouse space. The company has 800 employees overall, including 770 in Indiana.

Cibus Fresh, founded by Kurt Layer and Bill Pitrelli, in 2017, specializes in ready-to-eat convenience foods often called grab-and-go’s. 

Its offerings include high-quality sandwiches, wraps, flatbreads, salads, snack packs and parfait cups.

The company will continue to operate from an 11,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art kitchen facility in Noblesville certified with the Federal Grant of Inspection to ensure food safety and regulation.

All 15 Cibus employees, including Layer and Pitrelli, will remain with the company.

IF&P said it made the acquisition to meet unprecedented consumer demand for made-to-order packaged convenience foods.

“By combining Cibus Fresh’s unique approach to fresh convenient foods with our extensive expertise in produce and specialty foods distribution, we’re primed to exceed our customers’ expectations with new offerings, quality and speed of delivery,” Greg Corsaro, president and CEO of IF&P Foods, said in written remarks.

The addition of Cibus Fresh will provide IF&P’s product line with more than 60 new food varieties, plus future creations.
 
“We’re thrilled to become a part of the IF&P Foods family,” Layer said in written comments. “Having access to more resources means we can get even more creative in the design and delivery of our culinary creations. Together we can advance the convenience food industry in ways we could never do alone.”

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