Acosta, Inc. is a

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

and

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

agency currently headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. Their clients include

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and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

, among others.

History

Acosta was founded in 1927 by Lou Acosta. Founder Louis “L.T.” Acosta opened L.T. Acosta Company, Inc. This family-run, single-market food broker served the greater Jacksonville, Florida area for 50 years before it expanded across the Southeast. An office in

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

was opened and the service area expanded to central Florida. Expanding beyond Jacksonville in 1977, Acosta opened offices in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, which set the stage for continued growth. In 1981, Acosta opened a local office in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Florida. In the 1980s, Acosta's operations spread throughout the southern United States. This included local franchises in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

through a 1983 acquisition of Raley Brothers,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in 1989, and later franchises in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

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and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Acosta participated in multiple consolidations with other food retailers, manufacturers and procurement centers. By the mid-1990s, the company was servicing 27 markets and employed over 2,000 people. These merges included: * PMI-Eisenhart in July 1998 * Kelley-Clarke in June 1999 * the MAI companies in August 1999 * Luke Soules in July 2003 * C. Lloyd Johnson Company, a military sales agency, in 2008 From 2010 to 2017 Acosta focused on diversifying its services and expanding its national footprint via the acquisition of FrontLine Marketing, multiple foodservice agencies, Anderson Daymon Worldwide, Mosaic Sales Solutions, George Food Marketing, Etherton, Lenhart & Associates, The Pet Firm and ActionLink. * acquisition of FrontLine Marketing in 2010 * acquisition of Mosaic Sales Solutions, an interactive experiential marketing firm, in 2012 * acquisition of Anderson Daymon Worldwide in 2014 * acquisition of ActionLink in July 2017 In December 2019, Acosta filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection in efforts to eliminate long-term debt. The company's international operations were not included in the filing. The company emerged from bankruptcy in January 2020 after shedding $3 billion of debt. From 2021 through 2022, Acosta created CORE Foodservice and acquired Impact Group, Premium Retail Services and Amazon agency OeP, signaling a new dawn in the company’s history. * acquisition of The Core Group in 2021, creating CORE Foodservice * acquisition of Impact Group in 2021 * acquisition of Premium Retail Services in 2021 * acquisition of Amazon agency, OeP, in 2022

Outside advice and equity partner

Acosta has had partnerships with investment companies such as Berkshire Partners, AEA Investments, Thomas H. Lee, and The Carlyle Group.

Leadership

In 1956, Common & Company Food Brokers merged with Acosta. Robert "Hy" Albritton, who owned Common, became president and CEO of Acosta when Lou Acosta retired in 1959. In 1974 Hy Albritton retired and Delmer Dallas became company president. Former company president Delmer Dallas recruited Gary Chartrand from the Carnation Company in 1983. Chartrand was named president in 1993 and CEO, when Dallas retired in 1996. Two years later Chartrand was elected chairman of the board. On January 1, 2009, Gary Chartrand appointed Robert E. Hill Jr. as the company's president and CEO. In 2020, Brian Wynne became President and CEO.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta Sales and Marketing Marketing companies of the United States Sales promotion Companies based in Jacksonville, Florida American companies established in 1927 Marketing companies established in 1927 The Carlyle Group companies Privately held companies based in Florida 1927 establishments in Florida Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019

History

Outside advice and equity partner

Leadership

See also

References

External links