The Fresh Diet sold back to founder

TextEditor

By Nancy Dahlberg / ndahlberg@miamiherald.com

An investor group led by Fresh Diet founder Zalmi Duchman has acquired The Fresh Diet from the publicly traded Innovative Food Holdings that purchased the homegrown national gourmet meal delivery company in 2014.

In the transaction, announced Tuesday, New Fresh LLC acquired 90 percent of the outstanding shares of The Fresh Diet from Innovative Food Holdings with Innovative Food Holdings retaining a 10 percent position in The Fresh Diet.

“With the massive change in the landscape of the industry, I will be looking to add on multiple new product offerings into our best in class infrastructure around the country,” said Duchman, the Miami food entrepreneur who founded the company in his apartment 10 years ago with $500 on his credit card. “My story proves that nothing can replace a founder’s passion and I'm thrilled at the opportunities ahead.”

In August of 2014, Bonita Springs-based Innovative Food Holdings purchased the company and made it a wholly owned subsidiary. Last November, Innovative Food Holdings announced its intentions to spin off The Fresh Diet into a separate public company, but ended up selling instead.

“While we continue to believe that The Fresh Diet represents a unique platform within the fresh food space, it became abundantly clear that, due to a variety of factors, including several key capital markets considerations, The Fresh Diet’s optimal route to growth and success was through a new ownership structure,” said Innovative Food Holdings CEO Sam Klepfish, in a statement.