Sugar Foods (a company serving foodservice, grocery, retail, and restaurant brands) has announced the acquisition of Concord Foods. With the strategic acquisition of Concord’s complementary resources, capabilities, and expertise, Sugar Foods reportedly will be positioned to deliver enhanced innovations and an expanded suite of services to its customers. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Founded in 1968, Concord Foods is a supplier of custom ingredients and retail food products, serving national supermarkets, food service operators, and food manufacturers. The acquisition adds Concord’s 255,000-square-foot Brockton, MA facility to Sugar Foods’ North American operational footprint, which will play a role in the company’s future growth plans. Sugar Foods also acquires Concord’s brands as part of the transaction, including Concord Fresh Success, Simply Concord, Italia Garden, Oringer, and RedEMade. Concord Foods was previously owned by Arbor Investments, its founders, and management.
“Today marks a pivotal moment in Sugar Foods’ growth journey,” says Andrea Brule, president of Sugar Foods. “Concord and Sugar Foods share a long and successful history of customer-led innovation and service, and, with our complementary capabilities, I am confident that, together, we will maximize customer value and unlock new growth opportunities. This transaction combines the best of both organizations, and I look forward to welcoming the talented Brockton team to our Sugar Foods family.”
“I have long admired Sugar Foods for its diverse product categories, customer-led culture, and deep commitment to quality and service,” says Robin Galloway, CEO of Concord Foods. “The Concord team is thrilled to begin its next chapter with Sugar Foods and looks forward to executing on the robust pipeline of growth opportunities ahead. I am confident that together we will be an even stronger food and ingredients provider with a broader set of capabilities to better meet customers’ needs.”
The acquisition of Concord Foods creates new market development opportunities within each of Sugar Foods’ business segments, including its Fresh Gourmet division. Sugar Foods’ foodservice distributor and chain customers will benefit from a combined network with enhanced capabilities that are said to be poised to fuel innovation, increase speed to market, improve customer service, and drive relevance with new menu offerings and improved marketing programs. The company’s retailer customers will benefit from simplified logistics and vendor management, enhanced merchandising, and marketing across ancillary produce categories.
Barry Bounds, head of Sugar Foods’ Fresh Gourmet division, adds, “For more than 40 years, both Fresh Gourmet and Concord Foods have built produce-adjacent brands and products to drive department sales through thoughtful merchandising and cross promotions with popular fresh produce categories. We welcome Concord’s successful family of brands into the Fresh Gourmet Company umbrella and will continue to drive growth with a shared commitment to fresh forward, quality ingredients that inspire fresh produce consumption.”
“Concord Foods is an excellent strategic fit within the Sugar Foods portfolio,” said Chris Trick, investment partner at Pritzker Private Capital. “We are thrilled to partner with the Sugar Foods team as the Company executes value-add acquisitions to advance its growth and market expansion strategy.”
