Italian Rose Gourmet Products, a portfolio company of Blue Point Capital Partners, has acquired La Mexicana Food Products.
La Mexicana Food Products is a maker of refrigerated salsa. The company’s salsa producing operations began in 1982 and use only fresh vegetables – none of the company’s salsa ingredients are cooked, canned, dehydrated, or frozen.
The company’s products can be found in a wide range of food retailers including Albertsons, Kroger, Publix, Safeway and many others. La Mexicana Food Products is headquartered near Los Angeles in Vernon, CA (www.lamexicanasalsa.com).
Blue Point acquired Italian Rose Gourmet Products in November 2017. The company is a manufacturer and distributor of salsas, dips, sauces and spreads. The buy of Italian Rose was the ninth platform investment for Blue Point’s third fund which closed in November 2014 at the hard cap of $425 million. Italian Rose’s products, which include salsas, minced garlic, horseradish, ginger, prepared sauces, dips, and marinades, are distributed and sold to major food retailers and through the foodservice channel. The company was founded by the Berger family in 1979 and is headquartered in West Palm Beach, FL (www.italian-rose.com).
The buy of La Mexicana is the first add-on acquisition completed by Italian Rose under Blue Point ownership. The addition of La Mexicana’s west coast operations to Italian Rose’s east coast 
presence will create a national salsa producer and will provide increased scale, production diversity and product breadth. “From the time of our initial investment in Italian Rose, we saw significant opportunities to broaden the company’s market presence. The acquisition of La Mexicana, one of the leading fresh salsa brands in the country, will enable the combined company to present a unique value proposition to salsa buyers nationwide,” said Jonathan Pressnell, a Principal with Blue Point.
Blue Point Capital Partners is a lower middle market private equity firm that invests in manufacturing, distribution and service businesses that have from $20 million to $200 million in revenue and EBITDA greater than $5 million. The firm has over $800 million in committed capital and has offices in Cleveland, Charlotte, Seattle, and Shanghai (www.bluepointcapital.com).
“For a combined 60 years, Italian Rose and La Mexicana have been manufacturing and distributing fresh, better-for-you products, and their efforts continue to redefine industry standards,” said John LeMay, a Partner with Blue Point. “Combining these two industry leaders was a natural and complementary fit. We are thrilled to add La Mexicana to the Italian Rose family.”
“The strength of the two companies has been their brands and recipes that have endured over time. We will continue to develop and expand both companies to allow more consumers to enjoy the “fresh to table” experience on a national basis,” said Angelo Fraggos, an Operating Executive with Blue Point and CEO of Italian Rose.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | February 28, 2018
