SAMBAZON, an Açaí brand in the U.S., has acquired Pitaya Foods, bringing together two founder-led companies with a shared mission: fruit that is good for the people who eat it and the places that grow it. The acquisition expands SAMBAZON’s retail distribution by 20 per cent, now reaching nearly 70 per cent of grocery stores in the U.S. With Pitaya, the combined company expects to reach 45 per cent annualized revenue growth over the next 12 months.
SAMBAZON’s 26 years of Açaí experience, direct relationships with Amazon harvesting communities and sourcing infrastructure pair seamlessly with Pitaya Foods’ dragon fruit expertise and tropical fruit portfolio. Together, the companies form a broader tropical superfruits platform serving retail, foodservice and international partners, with regenerative sourcing as its long-term direction.
Frozen fruit continues to see strong growth in a stagnant grocery market, with unit sales up 10.7 per cent, a stark contrast to overall retail food and beverage unit sales, which declined 0.1 per cent year-over-year in September. As the #1 branded Açaí in the frozen fruit category, this acquisition is a natural next step in SAMBAZON’s story, bringing Pitaya into the fold.
“We spent 26 years building a business around Açaí and the belief that commercial success, care for people, and protection of the places we source from are linked together. Chuck and I share an immovable commitment to those core tenets,” shared Ryan Black, co-founder and CEO of SAMBAZON. “Bringing SAMBAZON and Pitaya Foods together gives that mission more reach, across more fruit, more formats and more partners. Açaí remains the anchor of our business. This acquisition builds on that foundation and advances our long-term vision for tropical superfruits.”
