Fresh on the heels of the announcement in June that it would acquire Misionero Vegetables, bringing increased production, processing and distribution resources on the West Coast, Growers Express continues to expand, this time on the East Coast, with the acquisition of Curran’s.

Curran’s, formerly of Saco, ME, has been a valued supplier and licensee of Green Giant Fresh value-added products since 2006. Committed to the success of the Green Giant Fresh brand, and its successful relationship with Growers Express since 2009, Curran’s expanded into a new 55,000-square-foot facility in New England in the fall of 2015. This new state-of-the-art facility allows for substantial expansion of products and capacity for customer growth.   

Bert Roberge, director of sales for Growers Express New England-Maine Division, formerly Curran’s, with Jamie Strachan, CEO of Growers Express. The acquisition of Curran’s positions Growers Express to better serve its clients in the East.Jamie Strachan, chief executive officer of Growers Express, said, “Acquiring this top-notch organization will be of strategic significance for us as we evolve into a next generation healthful foods company. Curran’s shares our values of integrity, relationships and teamwork, and has been a collaborative sales and marketing partner over the past several years. They will act as an extension of our company on the East Coast.”

From its location, Curran’s can provide one-day delivery to 40 percent of the population of the United States and Canada. It’s also ideally located to reach key customers while reducing order lead times and improving fill rates and quality.

“Curran’s commitment to the Green Giant Fresh brand, exceptional attention to customer service, innovative spirit and consistently high fill rates made this a perfect platform for us,” Strachan said, adding that these recent acquisitions have Growers poised for continued customer service and growth into the future.

“I grew up working with my entire family in this company that my father purchased in 1969,” said Bert Roberge, director of sales for Growers Express New England-Maine Division, formerly Curran’s. “From the beginning and to this day, the most important values are customer service, honesty and integrity. We started very humbly, offering just one product — bean sprouts. That soon evolved when local restaurants, grocers and retailers came to learn the quality of our product and reliability of our service.” 

Within two years Curran’s was processing fresh vegetables, as well as providing products to the wholesale market.

Roberge added, “We made a decision in early 2000 to focus solely on processing and grew our current offering to primarily retail, with some foodservice business, all the while allowing our values to guide us, as had been instilled by our father so many years ago. Nothing is more important to us than honesty and integrity.”

Roberge concluded, “It’s an honor to represent, and officially join, a company with Growers’ proven industry leadership as their East Coast division.”