Boise, Idaho-based grocery broker Impact Group has acquired two southeastern Wisconsin food brokers: Franklin-based Ritt-Beyer & Weir and Hartland-based W.J. Pence Co.
RBW was founded in 1957 and provides wholesaling and retailing of food products including grocery, fresh fruits, vegetables and confectionery food for the convenience, grocery, e-commerce, mass merchandise, diversified distributing and retail channels.
W.J. Pence was established in 1953 and is Wisconsin’s oldest independent food broker. Its retail sales professionals cover a 100,000-square-mile area, and its customers include Sendik’s, Pick ‘n Save, Festival Foods, Piggly Wiggly, Copps and other grocers.
Impact Group represents consumer packaged goods brands such as Amy’s, KIND and Organic Valley to grocers including Kroger and Albertson’s.
The transaction closed May 16 for an undisclosed price. Impact also acquired Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Impact Sales & Associates in the transaction, bringing on a total of 125 employees. It is the company’s ninth acquisition in two years, and it now has 820 employees across the U.S.
Impact Group said in an announcement the acquisition of the food brokers will expand its geographic reach in convenience and mass retail, especially Target stores. It also strengthens Impact’s presence in the conventional grocery and natural verticals.
“In addition to their impressive track records in the grocery business, Impact Sales & Associates, RBW and WJ Pence share our commitment to exceptional client service and results,” said Carl Pennington, president and chief executive officer of Impact Group. “We are proud to officially welcome these well-respected agencies to our network after multiple years of working with them in a licensed partnership. We look forward to achieving great success together.”
“We are looking forward to expanding our capabilities via scale and footprint,” said Joel Beyer, president of RBW. “The acquisition by Impact Group also provides our associates with additional growth and leadership opportunities.”
“As part of the Impact Group family, we will have access to best-in-class technological tools, valuable data and insights, category expertise and much more,” said Dale Kresse, president of WJ Pence. “We are excited about the improved ability for our clients to compete in the CPG space that this partnership provides.”
