Pepper Acquires Alima, Spicing Up Food Distribution with Advanced AI

NEW YORK, NY – March 25, 2026 – Pepper, a technology firm at the forefront of modernizing food distribution, today announced its acquisition of Alima, a Y Combinator-backed startup known for its work in bringing modern software to small distributors. The move, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is a significant talent and technology acquisition designed to bolster Pepper's artificial intelligence capabilities and solidify its platform as the essential operating system for independent food distributors.

The acquisition brings Alima’s co-founders, Jorge Vizcayno and Blanca Espinosa, into Pepper’s leadership team. This integration reflects a shared mission to digitize an industry long reliant on manual processes. “As we got to know Pepper, it became clear that our missions were deeply aligned and that Pepper is positioned to win this category,” said Vizcayno in the official announcement. “Joining forces felt like the most honest continuation of Alima’s journey.”

A Strategic Play in a Fragmented Market

This acquisition is more than just a line item on a balance sheet; it's a calculated move in Pepper's broader strategy to dominate the food distribution software market, a sector projected to grow to over $6 billion by 2033. Fresh off a $50 million Series C funding round in February 2026, led by growth equity firm Lead Edge Capital, Pepper is aggressively deploying capital to accelerate innovation and market adoption.

The company already serves over 500 distributors and processes approximately $30 billion in annual gross merchandise volume, providing an AI-enabled platform for ordering, sales, payments, and more. Its core value proposition is helping independent distributors compete against industry giants like Sysco and US Foods, which have their own extensive technology infrastructures.

The Alima deal follows Pepper's 2025 acquisition of Kimelo, a provider of vertical distribution software, signaling a clear strategy of consolidation. By acquiring specialized teams and technologies, Pepper is rapidly building a comprehensive, end-to-end platform that addresses the niche challenges of the food supply chain. Integrating Alima’s founders is a key part of this play. Jorge Vizcayno, Alima's former CEO, will now lead Pepper’s product content platform and data infrastructure, while former CMO Blanca Espinosa will spearhead efforts to reimagine customer implementation using AI.

“Jorge and Blanca are exceptional builders who deeply understand the food industry and the challenges distributors face every day, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the team,” said Bowie Cheung, CEO and co-founder of Pepper.

Tackling Food Distribution's "Messy Data" Problem

At the heart of the acquisition is a notoriously difficult industry problem: product data. Food distribution involves vast, sprawling catalogs with inconsistent product names, descriptions, and frequent price changes. Managing this "messy data" manually is a significant drain on resources and a major source of errors for distributors.

This is where Alima’s expertise becomes critical. The startup specialized in using AI and analytics to digitize and optimize operations, particularly through agile catalog management and algorithm-based price construction. As the new head of Pepper’s product content platform, Vizcayno will leverage this expertise to build out an infrastructure that uses AI to automatically match, enrich, and standardize product content at a massive scale. This promises to bring a new level of accuracy and efficiency to distributors using Pepper's platform.

Simultaneously, Blanca Espinosa’s new role addresses another major hurdle in enterprise software adoption: implementation. Onboarding a distributor onto a new digital platform can be a lengthy and complex process. Espinosa will focus on applying AI tooling to streamline and accelerate customer implementation, reducing the time-to-value for new clients and making the transition to digital operations smoother for businesses that may lack deep technical resources.

Empowering the Independent Distributor

While the acquisition is a story of corporate strategy and advanced technology, its ultimate impact is felt by the small and independent businesses that form the backbone of the food economy. These distributors have historically been underserved by technology, often relying on a patchwork of phone calls, faxes, and spreadsheets to run their operations.

The combined force of Pepper and Alima aims to level the playing field. By offering a sophisticated, unified platform, Pepper provides independent operators with tools previously accessible only to their largest competitors. The integration of Alima's AI further enhances this, automating complex tasks like catalog management and streamlining workflows, which frees up distributors to focus on customer relationships and growth.

The acquisition also opens a potential new frontier for Pepper: Latin America. Alima was founded to serve SMB distributors in this region, where over 85% of B2B suppliers still rely on manual, in-person sales processes. With Alima's founders and their deep market knowledge now part of the team, Pepper is uniquely positioned to expand its services into this ripe, and largely untapped, market.

“Pepper is building the platform we wish existed when we started Alima,” added Espinosa. “Joining the Pepper team allows us to focus on building, accelerating innovation, and helping customers through agentic tools and streamlined implementation processes.”

The Broader AI Wave in Supply Chain

Pepper's acquisition of Alima does not exist in a vacuum. It is a key development within a much larger trend of AI adoption transforming the global supply chain. Industry analysts predict that AI will become a cornerstone of logistics, with Gartner forecasting that AI will resolve 60% of supply chain disruptions without human intervention by 2031.

From demand forecasting and route optimization to automated order entry, AI is moving from a buzzword to an essential operational capability. While many companies offer point solutions, Pepper’s strategy is to create a deeply integrated platform where AI enhances every facet of a distributor’s business—from sales and finance to operations.

This acquisition reinforces Pepper's commitment to being a foundational technology partner for its clients. By absorbing Alima’s focused AI expertise, Pepper is not just adding features but is weaving intelligent automation into the very fabric of its platform, promising a future where independent food distributors are powered by the same cutting-edge technology as the world’s largest corporations. The move signals a clear belief that the future of food distribution will be driven by data and powered by AI.