The Chicago company that owns the Pillsbury brand is expanding into the health-conscious food market, acquiring organic baking brands Arrowhead Mills and SunSpire.
Hometown Foods today said it bought the brands for $15 million from New-York based Hain Celestial Group. It also acquired Arrowhead Mill’s manufacturing facility in Hereford, Texas.
The Chicago company said the move is part of its larger effort to expand its portfolio and capitalize on health-conscious trends in the market.
Arrowhead Mills sells organic and gluten-free breakfast foods and baking products. SunSpire specializes in organic chocolate with non-dairy and gluten-free offerings.
Headquartered in the West Loop, Hometown Foods was created last year when East Coast private-equity firm Brynwood Partners bought the Pillsbury brand and other baking products from J.M. Smucker for $375 million.
Brynwood CEO Henk Hartong called Arrowhead Mills and SunSpire “pioneers in the organic, non-GMO ingredients space,” adding in a statement that the acquisition “strengthens our industry position by adding improved capabilities in the better-for-you space that we plan to extend into our other categories.”
Most of Hometown Foods’ products are manufactured at a 650,000-square-foot former Smucker facility in Toledo, Ohio.
Source: www.chicagobusiness.com
