Roland Foods, a portfolio company of Vestar Capital Partners, has acquired ifiGOURMET, an importer and master distributor of products used in the bakery, pastry, confectionery, and ice cream industries.
ifiGOURMET’s products include desserts and ingredients that are sold to more than 1,500 in-store bakery, restaurant chain and foodservice customers nationwide. The company operates two distribution centers located in Chicago and San Francisco.
Roland Foods is an importer and supplier of specialty foods to foodservice distributors, specialty retailers and restaurants. The company has more than 2,400 SKUs and its products include peppers, olives, and pickles; grains and rice; noodles and pasta; condiments and sauces; seafood and proteins; fruits; spices and seasonings; crackers and nuts; desserts and pastries; and a variety of other products.
Roland was founded in 1934 by Bruno and Suzanne Scheidt and is based in New York City with a warehouse facility south of Newark in Dayton, New Jersey. Vestar acquired Roland Foods in September 2013.
Post closing, ifiGOURMET will be combined with AUI Fine Foods, Roland Foods’ sweets division that it acquired in January 2019, and Rick Brownstein, ifiGOURMET’s owner and CEO, will remain with the company.
“This strategic acquisition will strengthen AUI Fine Foods’ footprint in the key Chicago and San Francisco markets and expands our sweet product offering, which will allow us to better serve existing and new customers nationwide,” said Keith Dougherty, the CEO of Roland Foods. “We believe tremendous opportunities exist in the gourmet food and ingredients market today, and the addition of the ifiGOURMET team will better position Roland Foods for growth.”
“Joining AUI Fine Foods and the Roland Foods’ family will provide ifiGOURMET with the resources and relationships needed to take our organization to the next level,” said Mr. Brownstein. “Roland Foods and AUI share our culture and strong commitment to customer service and deeply understand our business, and we’re excited about the future.”
“We are proud to support Roland Foods’ expansion with the acquisition of ifiGOURMET, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Keith and the entire Roland Foods and AUI Fine Foods team as they continue to identify new strategic acquisition opportunities,” said Ken O’Keefe, a managing director at Vestar.
Vestar specializes in both minority and control management buyouts and growth capital investments. Sectors of interest include consumer, business and technology services, and healthcare. Since Vestar’s founding in 1988, the firm has completed more than 91 platform investments, more than 200 add-on acquisitions, with a total value of more than $52 billion. Vestar has offices in New York City and Denver.
© 2023 Private Equity Professional | August 25, 2023
