Acosta Sales & Marketing
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sales and marketing |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Founder | Louis “L.T.” Acosta |
| Headquarters | Jacksonville , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Brian Wynne (President and CEO) |
Number of employees | 2000+ |
| Parent | The Carlyle Group |
Acosta, Inc. operates as a private sales and marketing firm based in Jacksonville, Florida, delivering services to prominent clients such as Coca-Cola and Clorox.
History
Established in 1927 by Louis “L.T.” Acosta as a family-owned food brokerage in Jacksonville, the company steadily expanded throughout the Southeastern United States over the following fifty years. By 1977, Acosta had established offices in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, later extending its presence to Miami in 1981. The 1980s marked further growth into southern markets including Georgia—strengthened by acquiring Raley Brothers in 1983—as well as North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Acosta’s growth strategy involved integrating with various food retailers and manufacturers. By the mid-1990s, it operated in 27 markets employing more than 2,000 staff members. Significant acquisitions during this era comprised PMI-Eisenhart (1998), Kelley-Clarke (1999), MAI companies (1999), Luke Soules (2003), and C. Lloyd Johnson Company (2008), which collectively broadened its market reach and service portfolio.
Between 2010 and 2017, Acosta aggressively expanded through acquisitions aimed at diversifying its offerings and achieving nationwide coverage. Key purchases included FrontLine Marketing (2010), Mosaic Sales Solutions (2012), Anderson Daymon Worldwide (2014), and ActionLink (2017), bolstering its capabilities in retail and experiential marketing.
Confronted with financial difficulties stemming from reduced marketing expenditures, Acosta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2019 to restructure and reduce $3 billion in long-term liabilities. The company successfully emerged from bankruptcy proceedings by January 2020.
In the period from 2021 to 2022, Acosta further enhanced its portfolio by establishing CORE Foodservice through acquiring The Core Group (2021) and incorporating Impact Group (2021), Premium Retail Services (2021), along with Amazon agency OeP (2022). These strategic acquisitions strengthened Acosta’s competitive positioning and expanded its global footprint within retail marketing services.
External advisors and equity partners
Acosta has collaborated with investment entities such as Berkshire Partners, AEA Investments, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and The Carlyle Group.
Leadership
In 1956, Common & Company Food Brokers merged into Acosta, with Robert "Hy" Albritton—the owner of Common—assuming the roles of president and CEO following Lou Acosta’s retirement in 1959.
After Hy Albritton retired in 1974, Delmer Dallas took over as president. In 1983, Dallas brought Gary Chartrand from Carnation Company into the firm; Chartrand advanced to president in 1993, CEO in 1996, and chairman of the board by 1998.
On January 1, 2009, Gary Chartrand named Robert E. Hill Jr. as president and CEO.
Brian Wynne was appointed President and CEO in 2020.
See also
External links
- Marketing firms in the United States
- Sales promotion
- Jacksonville, Florida-based companies
- American enterprises founded in 1927
- Marketing agencies founded in 1927
- Companies owned by The Carlyle Group
- Privately owned Florida companies
- Establishments from 1927 in Florida
- Businesses that filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment
- American companies established in 1927