Fortune International announced it has opened a new warehouse and distribution facility in Oxford, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Construction of the 40,000-square-foot facility just a day’s drive from more than 170 million customers on the U.S. East Coast represents Fortune's further expansion into markets in the Southeast U.S, the company said in a press release.
The facility will initially serve as a distribution center for Fortune subsidiary D’Artagnan’s products, but will eventually become a hub for the full Fortune Fish and Gourmet portfolio for both retail and foodservice customers in the Southeast U.S. Eventually, Fortune hopes to serve numerous markets from the facility, including Washington D.C.; Baltimore, Maryland; Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Tennessee; and South Carolina.
A spokesperson for Fortune told SeafoodSource that the facility is a retrofit of an existing facility. Construction on the facility started in May, and was completed earlier this month.
The need for the new warehouse, the company said, was identified in Q4 2021. D'Artagnan realized that its current space in New Jersey was beyond capacity for expansion, leading the company to look for a new location.
"The North Carolina warehouse was the optimum solution that would allow for the immediate geographic expansion into southern Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Eastern Georgia creating sizable growth opportunities for us as we grow the D'Artagnan and Fortune Fish & Gourmet customer base in this region," the company said.
The newly retrofitted facility is a fully refrigerated warehouse and freezer space, which will allow the company to further expand its offerings, Fortune said.
Fortune acquired D’Artagnan in March 2022, a move the company said would expand its food distribution in the Northeast U.S. Founded in 1985, D’Artagnan is a purveyor of gourmet meat and seafood products.
“The Southeast has an incredible culinary scene and offers a wonderful opportunity for us to bring the best-in-class brands, service and quality to many new restaurants, retailers, and customers,” Fortune President and CEO Sean O’Scannlain said. “We are proud to expand and deepen our relationships across the eastern seaboard, and to do so with the tremendous support of [North Carolina] Governor Roy Cooper, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, and Granville County Economic Development.”
So far in 2022, Fortune International has made three acquisitions. Besides D’Artagnan, the company acquired D’Iberville, Mississippi-based North Bay Seafood in May to expand its operations in U.S. states bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Then, in July, Fortune acquired New Orleans, Louisiana-based New Orleans Fish House, a seafood wholesaler and supplier also operating in the U.S. southeast.
D'Artagnan founder Ariane Daguin said the company is “excited” about the prospects of expanding its sales in the area.
“We have followed the food scene in the Carolinas and Southeast for years and believe we can create a very positive impact as the premium supplier to an entire new generation of top chefs, restauranteurs, and retailers just as we first did in New York City and other major markets,” Daguin said.
Photo courtesy of Fortune Fish and Gourmet
