Palermo’s Buys Majority Of Funky Fresh Spring Rolls

Trueman McGee with package of spring rolls at a farmers’ market. Photo from Funky Fresh.

Not content to dominate just the frozen pizza aisle, Palermo’s Pizza is expanding its offerings to include frozen spring rolls.

Palermo Villa, Inc., the frozen pizza maker’s parent company, purchased a majority stake in Funky Fresh Spring Rolls.

The two Milwaukee companies are creating a subsidiary, Funky Villa, LLC, to oversee Funky Fresh’s frozen spring rolls product line.

The deal, part of a strategy to scale up Funky Fresh’s frozen spring roll business, is a major step for Funky Fresh founder TrueMan McGee.

McGee, out of work and seeking to lose weight, launched the business in 2013. He made the jump from selling solely at farmers’ markets and other events to a temporary kiosk at the Shops of Grand Avenue Mall in 2018 and then became one of the inaugural vendors at the Sherman Phoenix later that year. The company also added a food truck along the way.

“We’re thrilled to become part of and partner with a legendary food company that has so much rich history in Milwaukee and incredible expertise and success in the food industry. When we started Funky Fresh nearly 10 years ago, our goal was to become a successful frozen food manufacturer. We accomplished that goal during one of the toughest times for small businesses.” said McGee in a statement. “Now, with a partner like Palermo Villa, we can achieve further growth and get our Funky Fresh Goodness out to a much broader market.”

McGee will continue to operate the restaurant side of the business at the Sherman Phoenix. He will also be involved in efforts to expand the distribution of the frozen rolls product line and food truck business.

“Funky Fresh is uniquely positioned in the marketplace as a quick, healthy, and fulfilling meal option for consumers,” said Giacomo Fallucca, Palermo’s CEO. “We are thrilled to work closely with TrueMan as the brand develops. There is significant potential to grow Funky Fresh and expand the availability of these non-traditional spring rolls in the local area and beyond.”

Frozen Funky Fresh spring rolls can currently be found at Sendik’s, Outpost Natural Foods and Festival Foods, but Palermo’s offers the brand a gateway to nationwide distribution with larger retailers and grocery store chains.

Palermo’s, which operates from a factory and office complex in the Menomonee Valley, was founded in 1964 as a restaurant on the city’s East Side. Its brands now include Palermo’s Pizza, Screamin’ Sicilian, Urban Pie Pizza Co. and Connie’s Pizza and the company also does private label frozen food production.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.