Country Fresh and Sun Rich USA, two divisions previously part of the Fresh Food Group, will now operate as a standalone company following the acquisition of Country Fresh and Sun Rich USA assets by Stellex Capital Management, previous management and Country Fresh’s original founder. The new parent entity will operate under the Country Fresh name and provide Country Fresh and Sun Rich USA brand products.
Country Fresh is a full-service, fresh food solutions partner for retail, foodservice, club and convenience stores.
Doug Burris, a food industry executive who served the company from 2005 to 2019 and most recently held the EVP title, will serve as CEO. The new enterprise will focus on its core-competencies of producing convenient, ready-to-serve fresh fruit and vegetable products for customers in the U.S.
“This is an exciting opportunity to continue building a market-leading business that offers quality, consistency and innovative new products – attributes that have historically differentiated Country Fresh in the market,” Burris said. “We have brought together an exceptionally talented team to lead this business into a new era and capture the opportunities before us. Our immediate goal is to strengthen the company’s operations and enhance its fresh food product offerings to create an optimized foundation for increased growth.”
“I am excited to be re-entering this product category,” said Bryan Herr, Country Fresh’s original founder. “Service to the customer was the core tenant of Country Fresh’s foundation, and this philosophy will guide all priorities at the company moving forward.”
Herr provided investment alongside Stellex and has assumed the role of chairman.
“Country Fresh was an early pioneer in providing innovative produce solutions to retailers and was instrumental in growing the value-added fresh product category. We are pleased to once again partner with Doug and Bryan to drive renewed focus on product innovation, quality and service. We want to let Country Fresh’s valued customers know the company has an entirely new balance sheet with significant equity support, and Doug and his team have Stellex’s financial and strategic resources at their disposal,” said Trey Lee, principal at Stellex.
Country Fresh is based in The Woodlands, Texas.
