Earlier this month Rupert, ID-based potato grower/shipper The Mart Group, LLC (operating as Mart Produce) and ProSource Inc. in Hailey, ID, announced they’ve entered into a letter of intent that will, effective Aug. 1, become a joint venture agreement.
According to a release from the companies on July 1, the Mart Group, which is comprised of four Idaho potato growers, will acquire a “significant equity position in ProSource Inc., a year-round grower-based onion supplier.”
The new joint venture merges current ownership of The Mart Group LLC, ProSource Inc., and Golden West Produce LLC “to form a collaborative grower-based potato and onion marketing company, effective Aug. 1.”
When the agreement is finalized prior to Aug. 1, “ProSource Inc. and Mart Produce LLC will combine sales teams to consolidate all fresh-packed potato and onion sales and marketing responsibilities moving forward.”
In the onion arena, ProSource Inc. is currently responsible for all fresh sales and marketing for Golden West Produce LLC in Parma, ID, Rio Valley Onion LLC in Hatch, NM, and Winter Garden Produce LLC in Uvalde, TX. The release said, “The finalization of this joint venture will effectively couple one of the oldest and largest Idaho potato grower/shippers with one of the most extensive year-round grower-based fresh onion programs in the industry.”
“We are very excited to join forces with ProSource and leverage the strengths of each of our organizations in offering a more complete solution to our customers,” said Jason Allen, CEO of The Mart Group. “With over 65 years of combined industry experience, we will be able to combine the strength and reputation that
ProSource brings from the onion industry and Mart Produce brings from the potato industry to offer our customers year-round supply of each of these commodities. We are determined to be the first-choice supplier of potatoes and onions to the fresh produce industry and we are excited to be able to expand our product offering to each of our customers through this joint venture.”
Corey Griswold, COO of ProSource, said, “Having conducted business with Mart Produce for many years and knowing the synergies between our ownership groups, the opportunity to partner with the Mart Group in this venture could not have been more timely. This joint venture, comprised of onion and potato growers within our marketing company, ensures a true supply platform of grower-based production in both categories into a single, easy to use solution for our current and future customers.”
ProSource Inc. is a grower-owned and operated sales and marketing company founded in 2010 “to more effectively and directly market the crops of our growers and to provide a consistent supply chain and customer service experience to our customers,” the release said, “ProSource Inc. currently services a wide range customer base comprised of foodservice, retail, wholesale and broad-line customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America.”
The Mart Group LLC supplies Idaho potatoes to customers in the fresh and processed segments of the potato industry, and operating as Mart Produce, the company employs more than 100 people and has been serving the foodservice and retail industries for over 35 years.
