Specialty Food Brokerage Sold

Wholesale specialty food brokerage Madison Lane, based in Portland, Ore., is expanding its offerings with the purchase of Seattle-based Murdock & White, a wholesale specialty food broker that represents a diverse range of regional, national and international specialty food products.

“The timing was perfect,” said Brian Howard, owner of Madison Lane. “It was the right time for us to expand. I was ready to take Madison Lane to the next level, and Murdock & White was seeking a compatible buyer. It’s really the perfect match as together we bring 50 years of experience in specialty foods.”

Charlene Murdock, co-owner of Murdock & White, agreed. “Our two companies already share a similar focus – the same business philosophy and approach to representing high-quality specialty food products. We both bring extensive market and product knowledge to the table, and we both focus on customer service and pay attention to the details, which makes a big difference in our relationships. Even many of our customers are the same.”

Madison Lane, known for representing manufacturers of high-quality cheeses and other specialty products, currently serves stores such as Zupan’s, New Seasons, Fred Meyer, Haggen’s and Town & Country Markets throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Acquiring Murdock & White more than quadruples Madison Lane’s business, adding approximately 40 proven Murdock & White-represented products, which include condiments, pastas, grains, sauces, marinades, crackers, cookies, nuts, snacks, chocolates, confections, sea salts, spices, oils, vinegars and teas, as well as Northwest products, gourmet accessories and seasonal products.

These new product lines extend Madison Lane’s market reach into multiple departments within retail grocery stores. With this acquisition, the company is establishing a new Specialty Grocery division, which will operate separately from its Perishable/Deli division. 

Howard explained: “I believe we can best serve our customers and manufacturers by operating from distinct divisions that mirror retail grocery departments, since each department requires unique knowledge and skill sets. My vision for Madison Lane includes having multiple divisions set up within Madison Lane that will cater to retail grocers so we operate as a wall-to-wall specialty retail broker.”

Madison Lane intends to retain its own and Murdock & White’s sales and administrative staff to maintain continuity in their established customer relationships. Murdock will help with the transition, remaining on board for a minimum of three years as a consultant to maintain and service current Murdock & White customers, help with product training and assist with integrating Murdock & White into Madison Lane.