Gourmet News

SpartanNash Names Crane as VP, Finance/Food Distribution

Published June 6, 2022

SpartanNash has named Greg Crane as vice president, Finance/Food Distribution. Crane will serve as finance business partner to Bennett Morgan, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer, and support the Food Distribution leadership team.

Crane’s role, effective June 6, includes leadership over budgeting, forecasting, monthly results analysis and risk and opportunity assessment activities for the Food Distribution business. Additionally, he will provide thought leadership and financial guidance on both broad strategic initiatives and day-to-day opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce company operating expenses.

Crane, a registered CPA, brings more than 15 years of financial and operational experience with skills in financial management, strategic and financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and performance optimization. Most recently, he served as the CFO for GHSP, Inc. Before that, he spent nearly six years at Wolverine World Wide in a variety of financial and leadership positions.

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Alkaline Water Taps Lazaran as CEO

Published June 6, 2022

The Alkaline Water Company Inc. has appointed Frank Lazaran, a current director and 40-year veteran of the retail food industry, as CEO.

Lazaran was most recently the chairman, CEO and president of Marsh Supermarkets and, served as the CEO, president and director of Winn-Dixie Stores. Lazaran has a proven track for delivering operational excellence with extensive leadership experience in scaling organizations in the retail sector.

Richard Wright has resigned from his positions of CEO, president and a director of Alkaline Water effective immediately.

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General Mills to Sell Helper, Suddenly Salad to Eagle

Published May 26, 2022

General Mills has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Helper main meals and Suddenly Salad side dishes businesses to Eagle Family Foods Group, a portfolio company of Kelso & Company, in a cash transaction valued at approximately $610 million. The proposed transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, subject to regulatory approval.

“With this divestiture, we are continuing to reshape our portfolio and advance our Accelerate strategy,” said Jon Nudi, General Mills group president, North America Retail. “This transaction improves our North America Retail segment’s growth profile and allows us to increase our focus on brands and categories where we have the best opportunities to drive profitable growth.”

Net sales for the Helper and Suddenly Salad businesses totaled approximately $235 million in fiscal 2021. The company expects the divestiture to be dilutive to its adjusted earnings per share in the range of approximately 10 to 11 cents in the first 12 months after closing, before factoring in any potential benefit from the use of proceeds from the sale. The company will provide more information on the transaction on its fourth quarter earnings call in late June.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial adviser to General Mills for the transaction and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP served as legal adviser.

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