Sky Island Capital has acquired Kaufhold’s Kurds in partnership with the founding Kaufhold family.
Kaufhold’s Kurds is a wholesale manufacturer of hand-breaded cheese curds that are sold to food service distributors across the United States. A cheese curd is a small, solid piece of fresh cheese that has not been aged or processed. It has a mild, slightly tangy flavor and is often made from cow’s milk. The company’s products are available in a range of flavors including original, jalapeño, garlic, sriracha, and Chesapeake Bay (celery salt, paprika, thyme, bay leaves, and parsley). According to the company, Kaufhold’s is the largest dedicated breaded cheese curd manufacturer in the United States with sales to all 50 states.
Kaufhold’s Kurds was founded in 1995 by brothers John and Scott Kaufhold and today is led by John’s daughter, Renee Drummond, and her husband Anthony. The company is headquartered 50 miles east of Minneapolis in Ellsworth, Wisconsin.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Kaufhold’s Kurds and carry on the vision that the Kaufhold family has for the growth of breaded cheese curds in Wisconsin and beyond,” said Will Dobbs, a partner at Sky Island. “Kaufhold’s is as authentic as it gets – picking up the fresh curds daily, hand-breading, and flash freezing to ensure the highest quality product and ability to ship nationwide. The product has a fanatical following and we are excited to support Renee and Anthony in this next chapter of the family business.”
“We are very excited and enthusiastic to partner with Sky Island,” said CEO Anthony Drummond. “They have an extremely skilled team that fits within the culture of Kaufhold’s Kurds perfectly. We are also thrilled to retain some equity in the business. Furthermore, we strongly believe our partnership with Sky Island and the support provided from their team will help us grow and greatly prosper as a company.”
Dallas-based Sky Island invests from $10 million to $50 million of equity in North America-based manufacturing companies that have revenue of $10 million to $200 million and EBITDA of $5 million to $15 million. Sectors of interest include aerospace and defense; auto and transportation; building products; consumer products; food and beverage; industrial products; metals; packaging; and specialty chemicals.
The buy of Kaufhold’s is the fifth investment made by Sky Island’s debut fund and follows the acquisitions of USA Industries, a Texas-based manufacturer of equipment used in process manufacturing facilities (February 2022); Polished Metals, a New Jersey-based polisher and supplier of architectural and ornamental metals (February 2020); Valley Forge Flag Company, a Pennsylvania-headquartered maker of branded, “Made in the USA” American flags, military flags, and state flags (June 2021); and SkyMark Refuelers, a Missouri-headquartered maker of custom work trucks used in the fuel delivery sector (December 2021).
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