The Coastal Cos. acquired Lancaster Foods from Guest Services Inc., a hospitality management company based in Fairfax, VA. Lancaster Foods, a leading retail produce distributor and processor, joins Coastal Sunbelt Produce, East Coast Fresh and Hearn Kirkwood as subsidiaries of The Coastal Cos.

The addition of Lancaster Foods greatly enhances The Coastal Cos.’ retail presence and expands Lancaster’s product offering to include grab-and-go, ready-to-eat and prepared foods. With this acquisition, The Coastal Cos. becomes a preeminent resource for produce distribution, processing, and prepared foods on the East Coast.

“We are delighted to welcome Lancaster Foods to our family of companies,” said John Corso, chief executive officer of The Coastal Cos. “Lancaster Foods shares our values of quality and service. This transaction pairs Lancaster’s leading position in retail with our leading position in foodservice to significantly expand The Coastal Companies’ market reach, sourcing and value-added capabilities.”

The Coastal Cos. will continue to operate Lancaster Foods under its current brand name and from its existing facility in Jessup, MD. John Gates, president of Lancaster Foods, and his team will remain with the company and continue to lead the organization. In conjunction with this transaction, Gates joins The Coastal Cos. board of directors and becomes a member of The Coastal Cos. executive leadership team.

“Lancaster and Coastal have emerged as leaders in their markets. We have shared values around people and relationships. We are excited to be joining The Coastal Companies,” said Gates. “Together, our network of vendors and our portfolio of products and services will enable us to provide even greater value to our customers.”

With the addition of Lancaster, The Coastal Cos. expands to four facilities, more than 650,000 square feet of cold storage and processing, and market reach stretching from Maine to Florida. Lancaster is located off of I-95 in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and near its sister companies Coastal Sunbelt Produce, East Coast Fresh and Hearn Kirkwood. Over the coming year, overlapping retail and wholesale customer relationships will be harmonized while foodservice relationships will remain unchanged.

The Coastal Cos. cited its focus on food, people and relationships as the keys to its success.

“The company has grown because we take care of our customers, we take care of our people, and we invest in our business,” said Corso. “Lancaster Foods is a great strategic and cultural fit with The Coastal Companies. We look forward to partnering with John Gates and his team.”