TORONTO – Meat delivery subscription service truLOCAL announced this week that it was acquired by e-commerce company Emerge Commerce Ltd. for C$16.8 million.

The subscription company, which is based in Kitchener, Ontario, sells locally sourced meat and has facilities in Chicago, Vancouver and Calgary.

"In four years, we've been fortunate enough to put together a team of dedicated individuals who have worked together to make truLOCAL the Canadian category leader in meat subscription,” said Marc Lafleur, founder and chief executive officer of truLOCAL. “In the process, we've introduced local farmers, producers and suppliers to the power of e-commerce, connecting them with thousands of loyal, health-conscious consumers across the country."

Lafleur also said his company found a strategic partner with Emerge Commerce.

“We're excited to leverage Emerge’s acquisition engine and gain access to their full suite of shared services, data insights, and cross-selling with their extensive member database,” he said.

According to the company, truLOCAL generated approximately C$19.8 million during 2020 which represented a 130% growth year-over.

Emerge stated that the acquisition will keep the founding team and brand in place.

"Throughout the pandemic, online shopping for groceries, and meats in particular, has been a bestselling vertical across both Emerge and the e-commerce sector at large, sparking our strategic interest in the category, and eventually leading us to the formidable business that is truLOCAL under Marc's leadership," said Ghassan Halazon, founder and CEO of Emerge.