HOUSTON (August 24, 2012 - Houston Business Journal) Sysco Corp. recently reached an agreement to acquire Louisiana Foods, a Houston-based seafood and distribution business, and its 95 employees.
Houston-based Sysco plans to keep all of Louisiana Foods' employees and its two local locations in downtown Houston and Stafford, said Charlie Wilson, Sysco’s vice president of corporate communications.
The acquisition will also expand Louisiana Foods’ current distribution reach, said Jim Gossin, who founded the company in 1972. Currently, Louisiana Foods distributes seafood products such as fresh fish and prepared gumbo to locations throughout Texas and western Louisiana, but Sysco plans to increase the distribution throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Louisiana Foods has distributed seafood to Sysco for more than 20 years, and Gossin added that he is pleased he can continue working with the company as well as watch it continue to grow.
“Sysco has so many more avenues for us that we couldn’t get on our own,” he said, citing that Sysco would not only increase its distribution, but in the future it may also consider consolidating Louisiana Foods’ facilities into one larger location.
Sysco will also benefit from the acquisition because it will increase its variety of specialty foods, like gumbo and etouffee, Gossin said.
In addition to founding Louisiana Foods, Gossin also co-owned multiple seafood restaurants, including Landry’s Seafood restaurant, which he eventually sold to Tilman Fertitta, CEO of Landry’s Inc.
Sysco and Louisiana Foods did not disclose the cost of the acquisition.
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