Food distributor makes acquisition

BONITA SPRINGS — Innovative Food Holdings acquired Organic Food Brokers, a company based in Colorado that specializes in launching and growing retail sales for small organic and specialty food brands nationwide.

Terms of the deal included $100,000 in cash, a performance-based payment of $225,000, and seller financing in the form of a $200,000 note convertible to stock and options to buy stock. Innovative Food Holdings is publicly traded (symbol: IVFH; recent price: $1.29).

Organic Food Brokers generated approximately $550,000 in revenues in 2013 and is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings, according to a statement by Innovative Food Holdings. Organic Food Brokers will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Innovative Food Holdings.

Based in Bonita Springs, Innovative Food Holdings provides more than 40,000 chefs at high-end restaurants with specialty foods. In addition, the company operates For The Gourmet, a website that provides specialty foods directly to consumers, and The Fresh Diet, delivering specialty gourmet meals to consumers in 44 metropolitan areas.

Organic Food Brokers works closely with emerging food brands to develop and execute sales, marketing and distribution plans through a nationwide network of retail-related food brokers while providing emerging food brands distribution and shelf access in stores.

“We have been seeing continued convergence between retail and foodservice products in the rapidly changing specialty food distribution market,” says Justin Wiernasz, President of Innovative Food Holdings, in a statement. “We are particularly enthusiastic about this acquisition as we believe it uniquely positions Innovative Food Holdings to offer unique, highly synergistic capabilities and relationships in both the rapidly growing specialty foodservice and specialty food retail area.”