snack foods

Wind Point Adds Turkey Creek to Evans

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Evans Food Group, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, has acquired Turkey Creek Snacks, a maker of pork rind products.

Evans Food Group is a producer of branded and private label finished pork rinds and pork rind pellets. Pork rind is the skin (rind) of a pig and when fried or roasted are sold as a snack food. Evans was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Chicago with five production facilities in Chicago, IL; Arlington, TX; Portsmouth, OH; Ontario, CA; and Saltillo, Mexico (www.evansfood.com).

Turkey Creek, a producer of branded pork rinds, was founded in 1977 by Gail and Laddie Fulcher and is headquartered south of Atlanta in Thomaston, GA (www.turkeycreeksnacks.com).

Wind Point Partners acquired Evans in April 2016. The firm partnered on this transaction with Jose Luis Prado, the former President of Quaker Oats North America. Earlier, he was the president and CEO of Grupo Gamesa-Quaker in Mexico and he also held senior positions in sales, finance and general management at PepsiCo in Latin America and Europe.

“I am delighted to welcome the entire Turkey Creek team into the Evans family,” said Mr. Prado. “Both companies share a passion for delighting our customers with delicious and high-quality products and being great partners to our customers and distributors for many decades. We are also excited to leverage Turkey Creek assets to expand our product portfolio with more product solutions and brands. The combination also increases our capacity to keep up with this fast-growing market.”

According to Wind Point, pork rinds are the fastest growing product in the salty snacks market. The product is higher in protein than other crunchy snack foods and are a good “high-protein, low-carbohydrate” alternative.  They are also a favorite snack food of the growing Hispanic demographic.

The buy of Turkey Creek strengthens the company’s position in the convenience channel and adds a manufacturing platform in the southeast. “We are excited about the combination of Evans and Turkey Creek. Both companies are intensely focused on growing the pork rinds category,” said Joe Lawler, a principal with Wind Point. “From a strategic perspective, the acquisition of Turkey Creek will give Evans a launch pad to grow in the large convenience channel and enhance our manufacturing capacity and capabilities in a new geography.”

Turkey Creek is the second add-on acquisition for Evans under Wind Point ownership. In October 2017 the company acquired Gaytan Foods, a City of Industry, CA-based maker of pork rind products. Wind Point continues to seek additional add-on acquisitions for Evans.

Wind Point invests from $50 million to $100 million in companies with EBITDAs of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products and industrial products. In June 2017, Wind Point held a final closing of its eighth fund, Wind Point Partners VIII LP, with $985 million of capital commitments. The fund exceeded its initial hard cap of $750 million and marks the largest fund closing in Wind Point’s history. The firm was founded in 1984 and is based in Chicago (www.wppartners.com).

BMO Harris Bank (www.bmocm.com) and Antares Capital (www.antares.com) led the financing for the buy of Turkey Creek.

© 2019 Private Equity Professional | March 21, 2019

Wind Point Becoming Pork Rind King

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Evans Food Group, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, has acquired Gaytan Foods, a maker of pork rind products.

Evans Food Group is a producer of branded and private label finished pork rinds and pork rind pellets. Pork rind is the skin (rind) of a pig. When fried or roasted, the pork rinds are sold as a snack food. Evans was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Chicago with five production facilities in Chicago, IL; Arlington, TX; Portsmouth, OH; Ontario, CA; and Saltillo, Mexico (www.evansfood.com).

Sales of pork rinds are growing at more than 15% per year. The product is higher in protein than other crunchy snack foods and are a good “high-protein, low-carbohydrate” alternative.  They are also a favorite snack food of the Hispanic demographic.

Wind Point Partners acquired Evans in April 2016. The firm partnered on this transaction with Jose Luis Prado, the former President of Quaker Oats North America. Earlier, he was the president and CEO of Grupo Gamesa-Quaker in Mexico and he also held senior positions in sales, finance and general management at PepsiCo in Latin America and Europe. Wind Point has considerable experience in the consumer products and food space. The purchase of Evans was the firm’s 7th platform investment in the food space over the last decade.

Gaytan Foods was founded in 1935 and has a 64,000 square foot facility near Los Angeles in City of Industry, CA (www.gaytanfoods.com).

“I am delighted to welcome Ryan Gaytan, a third-generation owner, and the entire Gaytan team into the Evans family,” said Mr. Prado. “Both companies share a passion for delighting our consumers with great products and being great partners to our customers for many decades.  In this new phase, we are confident that together we will be able to accelerate growth and create value for all our stakeholders.”

“The merging of Gaytan and Evans, with the support of Wind Point, will create solid operational, distribution, and scale efficiencies that will fund our growth,” said Mr. Gaytan. “Leveraging Evans’ national brands and investment in technology with Gaytan’s expertise in the Hispanic segment will be a win-win for our customers and team members. I am excited to remain actively involved in the continuing combined businesses and I am as committed as ever to ensuring the success of all our stakeholders.”

“We are excited about the combination of Evans and Gaytan.  Both companies share similar values and cultures.  From a strategic perspective, the acquisition of Gaytan will enhance our presence and manufacturing capability in the important west coast market,” said Joe Lawler, a Principal with Wind Point Partners.

Wind Point invests from $30 million to $150 million in companies with revenues from $100 million to $500 million and EBITDAs of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products, healthcare and industrial products. Wind Point was founded in 1984 and is based in Chicago. Last month, Wind Point held a final closing of its eighth fund, Wind Point Partners VIII, with $985 million of capital commitments. The fund exceeded its initial hard cap of $750 million and marks the largest fund closing in Wind Point’s history (www.wppartners.com).

BMO Harris Bank and Antares Capital led the financing for this transaction.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | November 6, 2017

Palladium Exits Sahale Snacks

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The J. M. Smucker Company has signed an agreement to acquire Sahale Snacks, a portfolio company of Palladium Equity Partners since 2007.

Sahale Snacks is a manufacturer and marketer of premium, branded nut and fruit snacks, which are primarily sold in the United States under the Sahale Snacks® brand.  Sahale’s products are sold in over 20,000 locations nation-wide across multiple channels and a wide range of specialty retailers.  Sahale’s net sales are projected to be approximately $50 million for the 2014 calendar year, primarily in the club, convenience, and grocery retail channels.  The company has approximately 150 employees and is headquartered in Seattle (www.sahalesnacks.com).

Palladium Equity Partners targets investments in financial services, business services, food, healthcare, industrial and media businesses.  Palladium has a focus on companies that operate in the rapidly growing US Hispanic market – a market segment where the firm has expertise, a broad network and an extensive track record of investing.  Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has invested over $1 billion of capital in more than 20 platform investments and over 50 add-on acquisitions.  The firm is based in New York (www.palladiumequity.com).

The J. M. Smucker Company is a marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and natural foods products.  The company is headquartered near Akron in Orrville, OH (www.jmsmucker.com).

“This is an exciting acquisition and an excellent strategic fit for our company,” said Paul Smucker Wagstaff, J. M. Smucker’s President, US Retail Consumer Foods and the great-great-grandson of J. M. Smucker, founder of the company.  “The addition of the Sahale Snacks premium lifestyle brand, and its portfolio of innovative and on-trend products, provides an established platform for growth in the snacking space.”

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 8-7-14

Arbor Sells Truco Enterprises to Insignia

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Arbor Investments has completed the sale of Truco Enterprises to Insignia Capital Group.  Arbor acquired a controlling interest in Truco in 2004.

Truco Enterprises markets and distributes branded Mexican food and beverage products. The company’s primary product lines include tortilla chips, salsa, queso and bean dips, frozen fajita kits, soups and non-alcoholic drink mixes sold under the On the Border® and Cactus Creek® brands. The company’s products are sold nationally through grocery retailers, club stores, mass merchandisers and specialty retailers. The company was founded in 1991 by David Silver and Roy Truitt and is headquartered in Dallas (www. trucoenterprises.com).

During Arbor’s ownership, Truco quadrupled in size and grew to become one of the fastest growing snack food companies in the country.

“Our partnership with Truco has been rewarding and extraordinarily successful,” said Joseph Campolo, Arbor’s President and Co-Founder.  “With this sale, we will realize a 6.7x return on our investment.”

Truco was the last Fund I portfolio company of Arbor and brings about the conclusion of Arbor Fund I which was raised in 1999.  Arbor Fund I has generated a 4.1x return multiple of capital invested, net of carried interest, management fees and expenses.

“We are thrilled with the performance of Arbor Fund I and the returns we have been able to generate for our investors,” said Mr. Campolo.

Arbor invests in the food, beverage and related industries. The firm has acquired or invested in over 30 food and beverage companies in North America and currently has $600 million of assets under management across three funds. Arbor was founded in 1999 and is based in Chicago (www.arborpic.com).

The buyer of Truco, Insignia Capital Group, invests in lower middle-market companies with revenues of at least $20 million.  The firm will consider investments in an array of industries but has a specific interest in consumer, business services and healthcare. Insignia Capital Group is based near San Francisco in Walnut Creek, CA (www.insigniacap.com).

“We are extremely pleased to partner with Truco’s outstanding management team, led by President and CEO Jeff Partridge. The team has driven tremendous and consistent growth over the past decade and has done a terrific job of expanding the company’s distribution footprint and introducing new products,” said David Lowe, CEO of Insignia. “The acquisition fits squarely within our investment focus, and we look forward to supporting management to generate a successful outcome for all stakeholders.”

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-8-14