November 12, 2020
PORTLAND, ME – November 12, 2020 – Forager, a company focused on connecting local farmers with grocers to bring consumers healthy, locally sourced food, today announced new growth milestones – including the additions of independent grocers to its network to fuel the local food economy, and expansion into new geographies. Changes in consumer preferences have driven a fast ramp up in adoption of local food, and grocers need a partner like Forager to manage the diverse, complex supply chains at the local level to meet customer demands. A recent Forager survey shows 93% of Americans think grocers have an important role to play in supporting local farmers and food producers.
Several independent grocers, including The Common Bond Market (CT), Solo Italiano (ME), Mountain View Market Co-op (NM), and Pemberton Farms Marketplace (MA), have signed up to increase the amount of local food they source while offloading the supply chain process, from procurement to payment, to Forager. In addition, Forager recently announced a partnership with Roche Bros. Markets, a leading regional Boston grocery chain. These partnerships have allowed the company to expand in new markets, including expansion in Greater Boston and New York City and entry into New Mexico.
"A more in-depth look into Forager has made me realize that, as far as growing our local program goes, Forager is the obvious next step." Noted Forest Miller, Assistant General Manager of Pemberton Farms Marketplace.
“Without Forager, grocers who want to expand local struggle with inefficient ordering processes and difficult program management, and many end up relying on distributors who shrink local producer margins dramatically,” says Joe Blunda, CEO of Forager. “To meet consumer demand for the freshest, healthiest food, grocers need to build direct supplier relationships -- Forager enables them to do just that. We’re excited to continue our growth trajectory as more and more innovative grocers place their bets on local and the value of building a strong local supply chain.”
As the company continues its momentum, Forager has achieved a number of major milestones, including:
The company also today announced their partnership with The BGJ Group’s Mark Doiron to help build relationships with larger grocers interested in Forager’s capabilities and partnership. As a former executive at Hannaford Brothers/Delhaize America, Sure Winner Foods, and Fresh Thyme Markets, Mark Doiron brings extensive experience in the retail grocery environment, while The BGJ Group opens the door to extended networks and invaluable mentorship and counsel.
For more information on Forager’s digital pipeline for local food, please visit: https://goforager.com
About Forager™ (Forager1, LLC)
The mission of Forager is to accelerate the growth of the local food economy and make locally sourced food more widely available to all. The company's online and mobile platform digitizes and streamlines the procurement-to-payment process, saving time and costs for grocers, co-ops, farmers, producers, and other buyers and sellers of local food. For more information about Forager, please see goforager.com, and follow Forager on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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