Kainos Capital has acquired Bonewerks Culinarte’, a maker of sauce products for center-of-the-plate entrées and fully prepared sous vide entrées.
Sous vide, which means “under vacuum” in French, refers to the process of food preparation consisting of cooking followed by vacuum-sealing and chilling, then later reheating the food to a very precise temperature in a water bath. Bonewerks’ sous vide products include beef, pork, lamb, duckling, chicken and veal.
By outsourcing sous vide preparation, chefs can eliminate labor, as well as the time-consuming food safety paperwork required to cook sous vide in-house. The company’s products are typically used to prepare dishes for large groups in white tablecloth restaurants, catered events, sporting venues and hotels. Bonewerks was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Green Bay, WI (www.bonewerksculinarte.com).
“We are excited to partner with the Bonewerks team to capitalize on the sizable growth opportunity in the marketplace,” said Andrew Rosen, Managing Partner of Kainos Capital. “The company has a powerful value proposition for foodservice operators, including consistent quality and the ability to achieve cost savings through reduced kitchen labor, time, real estate and waste in the preparation of essential center-of-the-plate items. We look forward to working with Bonewerks to increase its product awareness, expand into new channels, and introduce new on-trend products, particularly by extending the company’s sous-vide product line.”
“Bonewerks is uncompromising about product quality, period, from chef-driven recipes to the use of the highest-quality ingredients, traditional open top kettles, hand skimming and unparalleled food safety procedures,” said Tom Sausen, Bonewerks’ CEO. “We are thrilled to partner with Kainos to capitalize on what we have built and to pursue numerous growth initiatives.”
Kainos Capital invests from $50 million to $150 million of equity in manufacturers and marketers of food products, as well as other consumer products in the household and personal care industries, and over-the-counter health and nutritional products sectors. In November 2016, Kainos closed Kainos Capital Partners II LP with total equity commitments of $895 million. The new fund was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap. The firm’s earlier fund closed in 2013 with $475 million of committed capital. Kainos was founded in January 2012 and is based in Dallas (www.kainoscapital.com).
“Bonewerks is an outstanding company led by a management team with a strong commitment to providing quality products and solutions,” said Bob Sperry, a partner of Kainos Capital. “We believe that Bonewerks and its team can lead a broader consolidation strategy in outsourced sauces, broths and entrees that meet the growing need of foodservice operators for cost-effective solutions to these items.”
The acquisition of Bonewerks is Kainos’ second in the sauces and prepared meals segment of the food industry. In August 2015 it acquired Kettle Cuisine, a manufacturer of over 50 varieties of soups, chilis and chowders prepared in refrigerated and frozen formats that are sold through the foodservice and retail channels to independent restaurants, national restaurant chains and regional and national food retailers. Kettle Cuisine is headquartered near Boston in Lynn, MA (www.kettlecuisine.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 20, 2018
Tricor Pacific Founders Capital has acquired Keybrand Foods, a maker of branded and private label wet salads, hand-rolled products and fruit salads. Tricor made its investment in Keybrand Foods through Freshstone Brands, a newly formed company owned by Freshstone Kitchen.
Keybrand Foods produces branded and private label, deli classic and home-style wet salads, hand rolled products, fruit salads, and other prepared foods for retail, food service, and co-manufacturing customers. Company owned brand names include Keybrand, Deli Classics, Johnston’s and Sun Gem. Keybrand was founded in 1963 and is based in 100 miles west of Toronto in Kitchener, ON with additional operations in Delisle, SK (near Saskatoon) and Charlottetown, PEI (
“The prepared foods and home meal replacement industry is an attractive and growing market. We hope to make further acquisitions in this space adding capabilities and expanding our footprint over the next few years,” said Derek Senft, Managing Director of Tricor Founders who led the transaction.
