TORONTO, ON - Total Produce of Dublin, Ireland has agreed to purchase a 50% share in Gambles Ontario Produce, a distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables.
“This partnership with Total Produce will enable us to grow strategically to the benefit of our growers and customers,” said Jeff Hughes, President at Gambles Produce. “We will continue to operate autonomously but will have the support of Total Produce and their global affiliations alongside us.”
Gambles Produce is a leading fresh produce distribution company that services customers throughout eastern Canada, according to a press release. It operates out of two facilities; the Ontario Food Terminal Market and a 65,000 square foot distribution centre in Toronto. Its comprehensive delivery-based system services independent retail, wholesale, and foodservice operators throughout the Ontario on a daily basis.
Total Produce is one of Europe’s premier fresh produce providers. It grows, sources, imports, packages, distributes, and markets over 200 lines of fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. Total Produce distributes 300 million cartons of fresh produce to the retail, wholesale, foodservice and processing sectors across Europe and North America annually and employs more than 4,000 people in over 100 locations across 20 different countries.
This acquisition is just one in an effort to expand Total Produce’s North American reach. Its introduction to this continental market was in 2013, with the acquisition of shares in the Oppenheimer Group, based in Vancouver, BC.
“We see this as a great opportunity for our team to continue to learn, develop and explore new opportunities to collaborate with other produce professionals around the world,” Gambles Vice President of Sales, Tom Kioussis, said. “This will provide our team with opportunities to share new and innovative best-in class operating practices.”
“Our day-to-day interactions with our customers and growers will not change,” says Hughes. “We will remain the same ‘Gambles’ that our friends in the industry know and enjoy doing business with. If anything, our relationships should only strengthen with new synergies we have with Total Produce.”
It will be “business as usual,” says Hughes. He believes the industry will be able to expect the same high quality experience they have always had with Gambles Produce.
