Food

Lowe’s Foods Corporate Office

Lowe’s Foods was founded in 1954 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina by Jim Lowe.

Lowe sold that store to J.C. Faw Expansion, who expanded the store to a chain. In 1984 the chain was sold again, this time to Merchant Distributors, Inc (MDI). In 1992, MDI was reorganized as a holding company, Alex Lee, Inc.

Alex Lee expanded Lowe’s Foods with the 1997 acquisition of Byrd’s Food Stores, Inc, subsequently turning 43 Byrd’s stores into Lowe’s stores.

In 2007 Lowe’s began to open fuel stations at their grocery stores.

In 2011 Lowe’s opened a series of stores for the budget-conscious consumer, called Just $ave.

Today Lowe’s Foods is a grocery store chain based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The company has 100 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Lowe’s Foods is #169 on CNN Money’s Global 500, has 197, 500 employees, and had $48.815 billion in revenue in 2010.

Lowe's Foods

Lowe’s Foods was founded in 1954 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina by Jim Lowe.

Alex Lee expanded Lowe’s Foods with the 1997 acquisition of Byrd’s Food Stores, Inc, subsequently turning 43 Byrd’s stores into Lowe’s stores.

History

In 2007 Lowe’s began to open fuel stations at their grocery stores.

In 2011 Lowe’s opened a series of stores for the budget-conscious consumer, called Just $ave.

FreshDirect Corporate Office

FreshDirect is an online grocer that services residences and offices in the New York City metropolitan area.

FreshDirect was founded in 1999 by David McInerney and Jason Ackerman with a business model to deliver farm-fresh food and convenience to customers in New York City. Early on, the company offered discounts and incentives to new customers, which kept up a steady stream of new customers and grew the business.

FreshDirect practices Just In Time manufacturing, meaning that groceries are custom prepared for each customer, a process that improves quality and freshness and reduces waste.

FreshDirect is based out of a 300,000 square-foot building in Long Island City. The company has proposed a move to The Harlem River Yards in the Bronx. This move has been strongly opposed by Bronx residents and mayor Bill de Blasio when he worked as the NYC Public Advocate.

Today FreshDirect offers next-day deliveries to most of Manhattan, and parts of Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau Country, Westchester County,Philadelphia, and Jersey City and Hoboken, New Jersey. FreshDirect has 3,000 employees, has 250,000 customers, and had $400 million in sales in 2012.

FreshDirect

FreshDirect is an online grocer that services residences and offices in the New York City metropolitan area.

FreshDirect practices Just In Time manufacturing, meaning that groceries are custom prepared for each customer, a process that improves quality and freshness and reduces waste.

History

Keurig Dr. Pepper Coffee Corporate Office

Keurig Green Mountain Coffee Roasters was founded as a cafe in Waitsfield, Vermont in 1981. The company changed its name to Keurig Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in March of 2014. Demand for this coffee grew when local restaurants and inns asked to be supplied.

In 1986 Green Mountain introduced its first line of organic coffee. The same year the company began its mail-order business and Kings became its first supermarket chain customer.

The company went public in 1993, trading on the NASDAQ with the symbol GMCR. Shares opened at $10. Shares are currently above $70.

In 1997 ExxonMobile began serving Green Mountain Coffee. The same year, the company launched its e-commerce site.

In 1998 Green Mountain changes from a retail to a solely wholesale business.

In 2005 the company signed an agreement with McDonald’s to serve Newman’s Own Organics Blend in the Northeast.

In 2006 Green Mountain acquired Keurig, Incorporated. The company has since changed its name to Maple Parent Holdings Corporation, a subsidiary of Acorn Holdings.

In March 2023, the company settled a $10 million class action lawsuit and must state on all future packages that the individual coffee pods are NOT recyclable.

The company went private when it was acquired in March of 2016 Green Mountain has almost 6,000 employees and had $4.04 billion in revenue in 2012. Keurig Green Mountain is now a privately held company and will remain an independent entity run by its existing management team.

In 2018, Keurig Green Mountain acquired the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for $18.7 billion. The company is now rebranding as Keurig Dr. Pepper.

Keurig Dr. Pepper will now go public on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol KDP as of September 2022.

The company maintains a corporate office in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Keurig Dr. Pepper Coffee Roasters

In 1986 Green Mountain introduced its first line of organic coffee. The same year the company began its mail-order business and Kings became its first supermarket chain customer.

History

The company went public in 1993, trading on the NASDAQ with the symbol GMCR. Shares opened at $10. Shares are currently above $70.

In 1997 ExxonMobile began serving Green Mountain Coffee. The same year, the company launched its e-commerce site.

In 1998 Green Mountain changes from a retail to a solely wholesale business.

In 2005 the company signed an agreement with McDonald’s to serve Newman’s Own Organics Blend in the Northeast.

In 2006 Green Mountain acquired Keurig, Incorporated. The company has since changed its name to Maple Parent Holdings Corporation, a subsidiary of Acorn Holdings.

In March 2023, the company settled a $10 million class action lawsuit and must state on all future packages that the individual coffee pods are NOT recyclable.

In 2018, Keurig Green Mountain acquired the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for $18.7 billion. The company is now rebranding as Keurig Dr. Pepper.

Keurig Dr. Pepper will now go public on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol KDP as of September 2022.

The company maintains a corporate office in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Edible Arrangements Corporate Office

Edible Arrangements creates bouquets of fresh fruit that is hand-sculpted into flowers and other shapes and can be dipped in chocolate.

Edible Arrangements was founded in 1999 when Tariq Farid partnered with his brother Kamran Farid to open the first Edible Arrangements store in East Haven, Connecticut. The brothers then designed the computer systems, training manuals, production and profitability tracking systems, and supply chain management process.

Upon completion, in 2001 they began to franchise their business. The first franchise opened in 2001 in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The company grew quickly, with its biggest growth year in 2009 when agreements were signed to open franchises in Texas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia nationally and Italy, Hong Kong, and Turkey internationally.

In 2010, the company faced a lawsuit from some of their franchises, which stated that some corporate practices and policies were making their franchises less profitable. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court in 2013. The details of the settlement were not revealed to the public.

The company sued World Media Group in August 2020 to obtain the domain name Edibles.com, stating that it was an infringment of the company’s name.

Today there are 1,100 Edible Arrangements locations in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Italy, Turkey, Hong Kong, Oman, India, and China. Edible Arrangements had $600 million in revenue in 2019.

Edible Arrangements

Edible Arrangements creates bouquets of fresh fruit that is hand-sculpted into flowers and other shapes and can be dipped in chocolate.

History

Upon completion, in 2001 they began to franchise their business. The first franchise opened in 2001 in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The company sued World Media Group in August 2020 to obtain the domain name Edibles.com, stating that it was an infringment of the company’s name.

Gordon Food Service Corporate Office

Gordon Food Service (GFS) has its roots in the turn of the 20th century when Isaac Van Westenbrugge, a 23-year-old Dutch immigrant, started a business delivering dairy products to grocers in Michigan.

In 1916 Ben Gordon began to work at the company. He went on to marry Isaac’s daughter Ruth in 1921. He became president of GFS in 1946.

By the 1960’s the company was redefining its business as a food service distributor with product lines consisting mostly of frozen foods, grocery, and disposable items.

By 1974 GFS had 4,000 steady customers including restaurants, hotels, and schools in western Michigan and $36 million in sales.

By 1990 the company was offering 10,000 products to its 10,000 customers.

Today GFS has 20 distribution centers across the U.S. and Canada. The company distributes food items, ingredients, and beverages to restaurants, schools, healthcare facilities, and institutional food service operators in 15 states and across Canada. GFS also operates 155 wholesale stores under the GFS Marketplace banner.

GFS is #39 on the Forbes list of America’s Largest Private Companies, has 13,000 employees, and had $8.6 billion in revenue in 2012.

Gordon Food Service

In 1916 Ben Gordon began to work at the company. He went on to marry Isaac’s daughter Ruth in 1921. He became president of GFS in 1946.

By the 1960’s the company was redefining its business as a food service distributor with product lines consisting mostly of frozen foods, grocery, and disposable items.

History

By 1974 GFS had 4,000 steady customers including restaurants, hotels, and schools in western Michigan and $36 million in sales.

By 1990 the company was offering 10,000 products to its 10,000 customers.

GFS is #39 on the Forbes list of America’s Largest Private Companies, has 13,000 employees, and had $8.6 billion in revenue in 2012.