- Read more about Tuesday, March 21st 2017
- Log in to post comments
IRWINDALE, CA and VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, FRANCE - Worldwide vegetable provider Bonduelle has completed its acquisition of Ready Pac Foods, purchasing the California-based producer of value-added fresh meal solutions for $409 million, or 11 times the company’s adjusted EBITDA estimated for 2016-17.
“Since joining Ready Pac Foods more than three years ago, I have witnessed the passion, hard work, and dedication of our more than 3,500 Associates across the country, resulting in a remarkable turnaround for the company, culminating in this acquisition,” said Ready Pac Foods Chief Executive Officer Tony Sarsam. “Joining the Bonduelle family of companies provides us with greater opportunities to grow and innovate, and we are thrilled to be embarking on this next chapter. We are looking forward to a bright future with Bonduelle.”
The acquisition is expected to benefit Ready Pac Foods through increased investment and extended geographic reach, and the company expects the move to drive its vision for continued growth and greater innovation. In a press release, the company noted that it expects to hire additional associates as the company takes advantage of the expanded footprint and distribution capabilities its new partnership.
Though the company is active in 100 countries around the world, the acquisition of Ready Pac Foods has made the U.S. Bonduelle’s largest country of operation and biggest division. Bonduelle hopes the acquisition will strengthen the brands leadership position and core business lines, as well as grow the company’s already impressive $3 billion yearly revenue.
“This milestone acquisition for Bonduelle is a key step toward achieving our strategic ambition—VegeGo! 2025—to become the world reference in well-living through vegetable products,” said Bonduelle Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Christophe Bonduelle. “This acquisition will strengthen Bonduelle's international footprint and dramatically change our profile, offering new opportunities to Ready Pac Foods’ business partners and employees, while delivering significant value to Bonduelle shareholders.”
For nearly-fifty years, Ready Pac Foods has worked to be a pioneer and leader in the fresh food industry. The company currently operates four production facilities in the U.S. and generates approximately $800 million in revenue. The company was previously held in private equity ownership by HIG Capital.
In connection with the closing, Bonduelle has acquired 100 percent of the common stock of Ready Pack Foods and will run the company as a wholely-owned subsidiary.
For more on important players in the produce industry, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - In a new move to further enhance freshness, Delhaize America has implemented the supply chain planning solutions of RELEX Solutions in its distribution centers, serving about 1,000 Food Lions in the Southeastern United States, as well as 181 Hannaford stores across New England and New York.
“As an organization, we are continuously looking for ways to continue to innovate, enhance, and optimize the way we procure and forecast product to our retail locations, ensuring our customers have the freshest merchandise available,” the retailer’s Senior VP of Supply Chain, Chris Lewis, said, according to a RELEX release. “We expect RELEX’s forecasting and replenishment solution will drive product improvements at retail, enhance our customers’ shopping experience, and reduce inventory levels at our distribution centers to further enhance product freshness at our stores.”
The system, the company explained, will help forecast and replenish perishable categories within Delhaize’s facilities.
“We’re delighted by Delhaize America’s vote of confidence and for the opportunity they’ve given us to show what we can do. The agreement provides us the opportunity to demonstrate to North American retailers what we have been able to do for their European counterparts,” said Michael Falck, President of RELEX North America. “We love tackling challenges in fresh and short-shelf-life products. It’s one of the toughest areas of retail planning and not only do we do it well, but customers across the board recognize that by nailing fresh replenishment we can do pretty much anything. We believe RELEX’s power, flexibility, and experience were major factors in Delhaize America’s decision to select RELEX, especially with the flexibility in which the solution can be customized.”
Encompassing both its Food Lion and Hannaford banners, Delhaize America operates a total of more than 1,200 stores along the East Coast.
TAMPA, FL – IFCO North America has announced the appointment of a new Director of Food Safety and Quality; Jeff Mitchell will assume the role on March 27, 2017, overseeing North American food safety and quality initiatives at the company’s Reusable Plastic Container (RPC) service centers, as well as food safety and quality programs along the entirety of the fresh food supply chain.
“IFCO has an excellent reputation regarding food safety,” said Mitchell in a press release. “I look forward to working with the leadership team, the operations staff, and IFCO’s grower and retailer partners to implement new and innovative strategies that will continue to bolster the company’s food safety and quality commitment.”
Before joining IFCO, Mitchell served as Vice President of Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs at CHEMSTAR. In that role, he was responsible for all operational and strategic initiative related to food safety and sanitation for retail grocery, quick service restaurants, and food processing facilities. Prior to that, Mitchell served for over 20 years in the U.S Army Public Health Command and was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal for his contributions to food safety and public health.
In his new role, Mitchell will oversee food safety strategy and compliance with IFCO’s Quality Assurance/Food Safety processes. He will serve as the company’s food safety and operations representative to industry organizations, associations, committees, and working groups, and represent IFCO in food safety interactions with customers. In his role, Mitchell will report directly to Daniel Walsh, President of IFCO North America.
“IFCO is the global leader in Food Safety for pooled RPCs and we are fully committed to continued excellence in this critical area,” said Walsh. “I am delighted to welcome Jeff to the IFCO North America team. His experience, qualifications, and deep industry knowledge will ensure we maintain our leadership position, and expand our Food Safety and Quality program in partnership with our grower and retailer customers, as well as the IFCO North America leadership team."
We at AndNowUKnow congratulate Jeff on his appointment and wish he and the IFCO team a long and fruitful relationship.
IDAHO FALLS, ID - Kingston Fresh is gearing up for a sunny 2017; here's What's In Store.
For over forty years, Kingston has provided customers with exceptional fresh fruits and veggies, and this year is proving to be no exception.
With year-round supplies of potatoes, onions, pineapples, avocados, and mangos from the United States, Mexico, and Central America, we’re always ready to support our customers and provide delicious, high-quality produce.
Our Kingston Fryer potato program annually serves up millions of pounds of “America's Ultimate Frying Potato.” Fresh, ready-to-cut and serve, Kingston Fryer potatoes are tested and packaged expressly for the purpose of making the perfect French fries.
The Kingston Fryer is the result of over 40 years experience packing potatoes for fresh cut fries and a rigorous quality assurance process starting long before the potatoes are even planted.
At Kingston Fresh, we manage the harvest, grading, packing, and shipping through a proprietary process that ensures our distributors receive consistently terrific product. Like all of our products, the Kingston Fryer line is inspected in the field, at the time of harvest, during the packing process, and then monitored throughout the supply chain to always ensure quality and consistency.
Keep an eye out for Kingston Fryers in your favorite restaurant. You can find out more at kingstonfresh.com. Thank you for watching What’s In Store.
ACAMPO, CA - For Bayer, developing and improving a crop is more than simple product development—it’s an important part of providing for a growing worldwide populace. Who are these important breeders working tirelessly to ensure a crop’s continued viability and deliciousness? We tapped Melon Breeder Alexandre Galea to fill us in.
“Melon is a strategic crop for the company and we really want to be a leader in the category,” Galea tells me, adding that the company has a talented crew bringing expertise to every aspect of the melon breeding program. “A lot of people are involved in the process—from the cell biology and molecular marker team in West Sacramento, to the people working in the nethouse and field here in Acampo.”
Galea grew up in the south of France and studied Agronomy and Plant Breeding at Montpellier SupAgro, a school off the Mediterranean coast devoted to agricultural science, and later at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, and Texas A&M. While, initially, Galea was hired to work on Charentais melons in France, he aspired to return to the U.S., and eventually was hired by Bayer to do just that.
After a year working for the company in Murcia, Spain, Galea transferred to Acampo, where he is responsible for Bayer’s cantaloupe and honeydew breeding programs in both the United States and Central America.
Now, he and the rest of Bayer’s team are hard at work both improving preexisting varieties and working to develop new melon varieties that are both grower-friendly and flavorful.
“We have increased our number of screenings with growers to find the hybrid that will really fit their needs,” Galea explains. “And while we are working on diseases and pests affecting melons—like aphids and CYSDV—we’re also using flavor as a key element in hybrid evaluation and testing our new varieties with panels to better understand the characteristics that consumers like.”
For more on this and other exceptional companies in the produce industry, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
BOISE, ID – The buy-side sector is buzzing this morning as unearthed reports are marking Albertsons and Sprouts Farmers Markets for a potential merger. The two companies have reportedly held preliminary talks in regards to the strategic move.
People close to the matter, Bloomberg reported, stated that the companies have engaged in early stage discussions for a merger in recent weeks– though they also asserted these talks may not guarantee the deal's realization.
If merged, Sprouts would add a significant presence of natural and organic foods to the chain of banners under the Albertsons name. As for Sprouts, this move would take the currently public chain private under the ownership of Albertsons’ parent, Cerberus Capital Management.
At this time, Cerberus and Sprouts have not commented on the proposed merger, although Albertsons spokeswoman Chris Wilcox did state, according to USA Today, that the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.
Thus far, a number has not been revealed for the potential transaction, although Seeking Alpha speculated that a bidding war could ensue as the companies move further towards a merger.
Albertsons currently operates over 2,000 stores, with Sprouts Farmers Market offering its goods in nearly 300 stores.
Will the industry see more retail banners join forces admist a tight market? AndNowUKnow will report as the news unfolds.
MADISON, ME - Backyard Farms, grower of hydroponic tomatoes, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its first shipment this year, marking that fateful day its product went out to its first and largest customer, Hannaford. Since beginning its path towards growth in 2007, the Madison, Maine-based grower has now ramped up to 2 greenhouses, 42 acres, and 30 million pounds of cocktail, beefsteak, and TOV tomatoes.
Mainebiz was on the scene for Backyard Farms’ February anniversary, when the publication delved deeper into the company’s history, as well as its turnaround from 2013’s whitefly infestation.
The first few years of Backyard Farms were ones filled with growth. As Mainebiz reported, by the end of the company’s first year, it was already producing and shipping 17 million pounds of tomatoes from its first 24-acre greenhouse. Less than two years later, in September 2009, its second greenhouse was born. This expansion brought acreage to a total of 42 acres, which employed 175 employees.
Unfortunately, that period of rapid expansion came to a close, as July 2013 brought a whitefly infestation that forced the company to destroy every one of its 420,000 tomato plants and start fresh. This whitefly wipeout caused up to 10-week delays in deliveries to over 30 retailers across New England, including Hannaford, Shaw's, Roche Bros., Walmart, Wilson Farm, and Whole Foods.
Struggles continued, needing to find a new supplier and temporarily furlough employees, but by December 2013, the company was back up and running. At the end of that same year, all employees were rehired and the company began shipping its new crop to stores, the source reports.
"We came back from it and are profitable now," President and COO Stuart Jablon told Mainebiz. "At any one point we have about 11 million tomatoes in various stages of development." Now, the company ships 350,000 to 500,000 pounds of tomatoes are weekly.
Want to get an even more in-depth look at Backyard Farms’ state-of-the-art growing practices? Read Mainebiz’s full article by Lori Valigra here. And congrats to the company for a decade of providing quality produce!
YUMA, AZ – The Labor of Love program is planning a huge send off to workers who will soon leave Arizona for Salinas and Monterey, California, in the next few weeks.
On March 22nd, Celebrity Chef Carmen Rodriquez—who previously participated in Labor of Love’s 2017 Harvest Dinner—will return to Yuma to help deliver meals to workers in the field. Chef Rodriguez grew up working in the fields with his family as a migrant laborer throughout the U.S.
Lunches will be provided in a Labor of Love lunch tote with a custom water koozie. The menu will include:
- An Achiote Chicken Wrap with Baby Kale and Roasted Vegetables, dressed with Pesto Torreado
- A Field Salad of Mixed Greens with Limon y Agave Vinaigrette
- Giant cookies
All ingredients will be provided by Chile Pepper, and Chef Rodriguez will also be providing his homemade tortillas.
Some work crews will also receive donations of new boots. Local Ford dealership Alexander Ford, a longtime supporter of the program, has provided 250 pairs of boots to Yuma-area crews this year.
Labor of Love still needs volunteers for the event—held March 21-22. Volunteers will assist with food prep, packaging, and distributing 500 meals to farm crews selected by the program. Volunteers can contact Susan Sternitzke at [email protected].
For more on the altruistic side of produce, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
ST. CLOUD, MN - Daniel (Dan) G. Coborn, who led Coborn’s Inc. for the better part of the 20th century as its former Chairman, President, and CEO, passed away March 15, 2017, at the age of 86.
The company announced the news with a heavy heart, reflecting on the man it said was not destined to become a CEO, much less to serve from the late 1950s until 1999, but worked his way there out of sheer tenacity, courage of conviction, and a healthy dose of luck.
“I started delivering groceries when I was 10 years old,” Dan said during a 2008 interview with Business Central. “All the able-bodied men were gone because of the war. I’d put a pillow on the seat so I could see out the window when driving the delivery truck.”
Born to humble beginnings as the third of seven children to Duke and Florence (Graham) Coborn, he worked a number of odd jobs with his brothers, Bob, Bill, and Ron.
“You’re the boss’s son so you have to do it all,” Dan once remembered his father saying.
A colorful, mischievous adolescence taught him lifelong lessons of patience, enduring optimism, and the power of second chances–lessons the company said had a remarkable influence that helped shape Coborn’s, Inc. into the company it is today.
Dan graduated from Saint John’s University in 1952 with a degree in economics, marrying Mabel Hansen of Rockville, MN, that same year.
When his father passed suddenly in 1959, his brothers decided Dan should take the helm. On the growth to follow, Dan said, “We were trying to eke out a living. We needed to expand to support four families. One store was not going to do it.”
In 1963, the brothers purchased their second store.
The same bold vision and resolve was how Dan led the company over the years. To see a detailed timeline of that growth, click here.
The eternal optimist, Dan didn’t dwell on tough times. “We made some bad decisions, but nothing that took the company down,” the leader said. “In the history of the company, we never missed a payroll except for four people–my brothers and me. And that didn’t happen very often. I never lost faith in the fact that it was a good business. People have to eat. They have to get their food from someplace.”
His basic principles for business, leadership, and treating others well, endure throughout the company today:
- “It’s better to be lucky than smart.”
- “You can’t sell from an empty shelf.”
- “Talk is cheap. It still takes money to buy whiskey.”
- “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”
Dan’s leadership in the grocery business and commitment to his customers and community earned him recognition over the years.
Well into his 80s, Dan would drive from his home in Sartell to the former Coborn’s, Inc. office on the East side of St. Cloud, just to be there and read the paper. He moved a little slower in his later years but he never missed an opportunity to attend a Friday morning staff meeting. “It’s good to see you, Dan,” employees would tell him. “It’s good to be seen,” he’d reply.
“It is rare that a person has the opportunity to work so closely with their father for most of their life,” his son Chris said. “I was blessed to have had my dad be such an influential personal and professional mentor. He was absolutely extraordinary.”
Dan’s success in business created opportunities for him and the company to give back. His generosity touched many organizations and institutions, but he had a special place in his heart for education.
He felt a tremendous sense of duty to his community, and he and his wife served many different organizations over the years.
“You may be a student; you may not make a whole lot; but you have a responsibility to this community,” he said.
In 1999, he was honored to receive an award on behalf of the company when Coborn’s, Inc. was named one of the Ten Most Generous Companies in America. The award was sponsored by John F. Kennedy Jr.’s magazine, George, and was presented by Kennedy and actor and philanthropist Paul Neuman. “I thought it was a joke at first,” Dan said. He and Mabel flew to New York to receive the honor. “We all share responsibility for the health of our communities,” Dan said upon receiving the award.
In his interview with Business Central Magazine, Dan summed up success in these simple terms, “You work hard, you know what the goals should be, and if you want to put in enough blood, sweat, and tears, you’ll succeed.”
In his later years, Dan found satisfaction spending winters with his wife in Florida and playing golf with friends. He loved watching his son Chris and his management team lead the company into new possibilities.
Dan was adored and beloved by so many at Coborn’s, Inc. He will be deeply missed but we honor his memory with his favorite toast, “Friends may come and friends may go, friends may peter out you know. But we’ll be friends through thick or thin, peter out or peter in.”
Dan is survived by his wife of 64 years, Mabel, and his five children, Shelly Coborn, Chris (Becky Bergner) Coborn, Suzy (Marty) Ellis, Duke (Amy Armstrong), Tom Coborn; grandchildren, Danny (Tina) Coborn, Maria Coborn, Emily Coborn, Michael Coborn, Peter Coborn, Maggie Ellis, Jack Ellis, Charlie Ellis, Duke Jr. Coborn, Willy Coborn; 1 great-grandchild, Dahlia Coborn; and his sister, Nancy Fandel. He was preceded in death by his parents, Duke and Florence (Graham); brothers, Bob, Ron, Bill and Neil Coborn; his sister Betty and his grandson, Nicholas.
AndNowUKnow offers its sincere condolences to Dan’s family, friends, and all affected by this loss.