John B. Sanfilippo & Son Acquires Just the Cheese Snacking Brand
John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. has purchased substantially all of the assets of the Just the Cheese snacking brand business from Specialty Cheese Company, Inc. The acquisition was funded through the company’s existing bank credit facility.
Just the Cheese is one of the nation’s leading baked cheese snacking brands and offers 100 percent real cheese snack bars and cheese crisps. It primarily competes in the baked cheese snack category, which is currently estimated to be a $100 million category. Products can be found online and in a variety of retail outlets in flavors including Aged Cheddar and Grilled Cheese.
“The acquisition of Just the Cheese, which currently will not have a significant impact on our financial results, will provide us a product that expands our portfolio into new snacking categories. Additionally, the assets and capabilities acquired will be complimentary to our existing product portfolio and are expected to lead to exciting innovation opportunities” said Jeffery T. Sanfilippo, chief executive officer.
Based in Elgin, Ill, John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. is a processor, packager, marketer and distributor of nut and dried fruit-based products that are sold under the company’s Fisher , Orchard Valley Harvest, Squirrel Brand and Southern Style Nuts brand names and under a variety of private brands.
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Blue Diamond Growers Names Bockmann President, CEO
Kai Bockmann will join Blue Diamond Growers, the agricultural cooperative and global consumer packaged goods leader, as president and CEO on Jan. 17. The board selected Bockmann after working with executive search and leadership advisory firm, Egon Zehnder, to recruit and consider candidates from across the country. Bockmann will succeed Mark Jansen, who announced his plans to step down after a successful 12-year tenure as CEO.
“The search process went well, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome,” said board Chair Dan Cummings. “Kai has more than a quarter of a century of global experience growing CPG companies, and we believe he is the leader we need to keep building our business and brand domestically and internationally, while continuing to deliver superior returns to our grower-owners.”
Bockmann most recently served as president and COO at Saputo Inc. – one of the world’s largest dairy companies – where he led operations that included 67 plants and 18,000 employees across the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina and the United Kingdom. From 2017 to 2021, he and his team grew revenue from $11 billion to $14 billion. From 2012 to 2021, the international business he led grew from less than $500 million to more than $4 billion. Prior to Saputo Inc., Bockmann was at McCain – the world’s largest producer of frozen potatoes – where he served as president of the international division and accelerated international sales across 60 export markets, doubling revenues over four years.
“I’m excited by this phenomenal opportunity to join one of the most consistent and fastest-growing food and beverage companies in the world,” said Bockmann. “I look forward to learning from growers and team members and keeping our immediate focus on maintaining business continuity and growth momentum.”
“We’re grateful for Mark’s support during the search and his commitment to helping set Kai and the cooperative up for continued success,” said Cummings. “We’re building from 112 years of success, and we know the future is bright for Blue Diamond because no one knows how to get almonds from growers’ farms to families worldwide better than us.”
Cummings said Blue Diamond’s snack almond business has more than a 50 percent market share in the United States and that Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze is the leading almondmilk brand in the United States, South Korea, Thailand, Brazil and South Africa. In 2021, the company’s net sales totaled $1.6 billion.
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Quinn Snacks Earns Climate Friendly Label for Snacks Line
Sustainable snack brand Quinn has achieved the Climate Friendly product attribute from its partner, HowGood, an independent research company with the world’s largest ingredient sustainability database. Quinn will begin to roll out the first ever on-pack Climate Friendly label on its snack products in 2023.
Products that receive the Climate Friendly attribute have greenhouse gas emissions that are lower than 70 percent of all products assessed by HowGood. The new on-pack label allows consumers to easily identify products that are more sustainable.
As part of Quinn’s ongoing commitment to being a trailblazer in making real change to the food system, the Company always seeks out ingredients that support soil health and reduce carbon emissions, and share all that information with its Ingredient Transparency Policy. Through its partnership with HowGood, Quinn is now able to further measure the impact of its ingredients and products, including its carbon footprint.
HowGood’s assessment for the Climate Friendly attribute takes into account greenhouse gas emissions at the agricultural production and ingredient processing stages of the carbon life cycle and identifies those with significantly lower emissions.
“Transparency is a huge priority for us at Quinn Snacks. When you know where your food comes from and how it’s grown, you make food differently, you make it better. Regenerative agriculture can drastically reduce emissions and make farms more resilient to the effects of climate change. We’re excited to have HowGood’s Climate Friendly label to communicate our commitment to the environment and responsible sourcing” said Kristy Lewis, Quinn founder.
Quinn snack products featuring the Climate Friendly attribute will be reassessed yearly to ensure the Company and its products continue to meet the current industry benchmarks. The new label will begin to appear on packaging in retail stores nationwide in early 2023, and it will be made available immediately on product pages across Quinn’s website.
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