Bensenville, IL – July 18, 2012 - (Virtual Press Office) – Fortune Fish Company and JDY Gourmet announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Fortune Fish Company will acquire JDY Gourmet, a Chicago-based specialty foods and premium meat purveyor. Under this agreement, JDY Gourmet will become Fortune Gourmet, a division of Fortune Fish Company. The announcement will be made to the public today at the 2012 Chicago Seafood and Specialty Food Show at Navy Pier, a biennial trade show hosted by Fortune Fish Company.

The acquisition will allow JDY Gourmet to increase their efficiency by joining the infrastructure already in place at Fortune Fish. JDY will move into the Fortune Fish facility, taking full advantage of their state of the art bar-coding inventory system and incredibly passionate sales and management staff. JDY’s distribution area will also increase with Fortune’s fleet of over 40 refrigerated trucks with direct distribution in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, and nationally through their Flying Fish program.

Sean J. O’Scannlain, Fortune’s President & CEO, stated “We are very excited about the opportunities this acquisition will create for our employees, customers and suppliers. JDY specializes in procuring fantastic artisan food products from smaller farms and their reputation in the industry speaks for itself. Fortune is proud to welcome JDY’s owners and staff as new members of the Fortune team.”

David Yourd and Karrie Kimble, the owners of JDY Gourmet, will lead the Fortune Gourmet division with the current JDY staff members. As Fortune Gourmet, JDY will maintain their commitment to hand-selecting outstanding foods from smaller artisan farms and matching them with the Midwest’s leading chefs and retailers. Fortune Gourmet will continue JDY’s current services but will be able to provide earlier deliveries, a stronger sales presence and an increased portfolio of specialty food products.

“Karrie and I love the food industry it is our life,” said David Yourd, President of JDY. “With the new developments in specialty food distribution, we recognize the opportunity to become an important part of changing the traditional food chain. While it seems like every quality driven company has been bought up in Chicago recently, we have noticed that it has usually come from public corporations or out of town companies. It was very important for us to make sure we teamed up with a local company who understands the Chicago market. We can achieve with Fortune immediately that which would have taken us years to do on our own,” Yourd said.

The terms of the deal were not released. The transaction is expected to close by the end of August.

About Fortune Fish Company
Fortune Fish Company is a Bensenville, Ill.-based seafood processor and distributor providing white-tablecloth restaurants, private clubs, elegant hotels and independent, gourmet retail stores with the finest quality fresh, live and frozen seafood. Fortune Fish Company’s key associates have more than 100 years combined experience in the seafood business, with a worldwide supplier base ranging from single fishermen with one vessel to multi-national aquaculture firms. By being headquartered only minutes from O’Hare International Airport’s cargo dock, Fortune Fish Company has the world’s seafood markets at its fingertips. Fortune handles over 6000 different products including a Gourmet Foods division, which supplies specialty foods selected to exceed the high standards embraced by their quality driven customer base. Fortune Fish Company currently services customers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana and Michigan with a fleet of over 40 refrigerated vehicles and nationally through its Flying Fish program. Since 2001, Fortune Fish Company has brought innovation to seafood and gourmet food distribution, consistently raising the bar for integrity, quality, sustainability and service. To learn more about the company, visit http://www.fortunefish.net or call 630.860.7100.

About JDY Gourmet
At JDY Gourmet, we are obsessed with flavors, textures, fragrances and the pleasures of food. We care deeply about making the best-tasting products available to our foodservice and retail customers. Our experience has shown us that the most delicious products often come from smaller farms and artisans. We are committed to hand-selecting these outstanding foods and matching them efficiently with the Midwest’s leading chefs and retailers. To learn more about the company, visit http://www.jdygourmet.com or call 773.561.7539.