Acquisition expands access to technology and accelerates AI innovation across the food & beverage industry

COLCHESTER, Vt., Sept. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — VIP, a leading technology partner to the food and beverage industry, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Encompass Technologies, further strengthening VIP’s commitment to delivering innovative technology across the food and beverage ecosystem.

The acquisition expands VIP’s portfolio of technology capabilities and creates new opportunities for customers of both companies. By bringing together Encompass’ technology and talent with VIP’s scale, industry expertise, customer relationships, and continued investment in innovation, the combined companies can deliver more value to customers and accelerate the pace of modernization. Together, the companies will be better positioned to serve suppliers, distributors, and retailers throughout the ecosystem. The companies will continue to operate under their respective names and brands.

The acquisition is another step in VIP’s long-term strategy to broaden access to technology, accelerate innovation, and invest in the capabilities that will define the next generation of food and beverage technology.

“This is an incredibly exciting moment for VIP, our customers, and the broader food and beverage industry,” said Andrew Criezis, CEO of VIP. “The industry is at an important inflection point. Technology is moving faster than ever, and AI is creating new possibilities for how businesses operate, make decisions, and serve their customers. Together, VIP and Encompass bring important capabilities and expertise that will allow us to expand what we offer our customers and accelerate the pace of innovation for the industry.” Criezis will remain CEO across the respective companies.

Accelerating AI and Intelligent Technology

VIP has continued to invest in modern technology, connected solutions, and agentic workflows designed to help food and beverage companies navigate increasing complexity and operate with greater intelligence and agility. The addition of Encompass expands that foundation, bringing new capabilities and expertise that can help customers anticipate what’s next, automate increasingly complex work, optimize operations in real time, and turn data into actionable insight.

VIP believes the next generation of food and beverage technology will move beyond traditional software toward intelligent systems that can increasingly understand context, interpret data, recommend actions, and help execute work.

“AI will be a key part of this evolution. The food and beverage industry has an incredible opportunity to harness technology and AI to operate differently, and we want to help accelerate that transformation,” said Criezis. “Encompass expands our capabilities and strengthens our ability to invest, innovate and move faster. Together, we can give this industry and our customers greater access to technology that helps them solve more of their most important challenges and create better outcomes for their businesses.”

More Technology. Greater Access. Faster Innovation.

For customers of both VIP and Encompass, the acquisition creates access to a broader range of technology capabilities, expertise, and innovation. By bringing together complementary strengths, customers of both companies will benefit from continued investment in product development, data, AI, and integration, as well as new opportunities to connect complementary capabilities across the broader VIP platform. For VIP customers, the acquisition expands the range of solutions available to address their evolving needs from a trusted technology partner. For Encompass customers, it brings the scale, resources, and industry expertise of VIP behind the continued evolution of the products and solutions they rely on today. Continued investment across both organizations will unlock new capabilities and create opportunities for an even more connected customer experience.

“We’ve always believed the food and beverage industry deserves technology that helps businesses move faster, operate smarter, and better serve their customers,” said Patrick Tickle, CEO of Encompass Technologies. “Joining VIP gives Encompass an incredible opportunity to build on what we’ve created and accelerate that vision. By bringing together Encompass’ technology and talent with VIP’s scale, industry expertise, customer relationships, and continued investment in innovation, we believe we can deliver more value to our customers and help shape the next generation of technology for this industry. We’re incredibly proud of what the Encompass team has built and excited about what we can accomplish together.”

Tickle will remain CEO of Encompass through the transition before moving into an advisor role.

Investing in the Future of Food and Beverage Technology

The food and beverage industry is entering a period of significant transformation. Increasing operational complexity, evolving customer expectations, and rapid advances in AI are creating both new challenges and opportunities across the industry.

VIP believes businesses that embrace this transformation will have the opportunity to operate fundamentally differently, with greater automation, better visibility, faster decision-making, and technology that increasingly works alongside their teams.

The acquisition of Encompass Technologies represents another step in VIP’s strategy to expand its capabilities, accelerate innovation, and help the food and beverage industry move faster into its next era of intelligent technology.

About VIP

VIP is a leading technology partner to the food and beverage industry, providing software, data, analytics, automation, and business solutions that help companies operate more efficiently and make smarter decisions. For decades, VIP has combined deep industry expertise with technology innovation to help its customers grow and succeed. Today, VIP is investing in the next generation of its platform, including AI-powered solutions designed to transform how work gets done across the food and beverage ecosystem.

About Encompass Technologies

Encompass Technologies is a leading provider of software solutions for the food and beverage industry, helping distributors, producers, and other industry participants manage and optimize business operations. Its platform brings together capabilities across ERP, operations, sales, logistics, and data to help customers improve efficiency, visibility, and decision-making. 

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal counsel to VIP. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is acting as legal counsel to Encompass Technologies. 

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