USA: Rich Products acquires Great Kitchens Food Company

Rich Products, the US-based family-owned food company, has acquired Great Kitchens from private equity firm Brynwood Partners for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction sees Rich Products take ownership of North America’s largest manufacturer of private label take-and-bake pizzas, which also produces flatbreads, strombolis, and calzones. The deal includes the acquisition of the Uno Foods brand, known for its Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas. Great Kitchens operates three manufacturing facilities in Romeoville and Chicago Heights, (IL) and Brockton (MA), employing approximately 1,000 people.

Kevin Spratt, Rich Products US-Canada region president, commented: “We’re always looking for new ways to enhance our pizza capabilities and this move is a game-changer for the industry. When you combine Great Kitchens’ leadership in fully topped pizzas with our strength in crust and dough, you get a one-stop pizza partner with an unmatched breadth of expertise that will allow us to accelerate growth[…]”.

The acquisition is designed to create a “vertically integrated pizza platform” for Rich Products, merging its existing dough and crust capabilities with Great Kitchens’ expertise in fully topped products.

Admir Basic, CEO of Great Kitchens, added: “Rich’s shares our commitment to innovation and delivering value for customers, making this partnership a natural fit. By merging our unique strengths, we have a huge opportunity to accelerate innovation and raise the bar across the industry”.

Brynwood Partners originally formed Great Kitchens in December 2020 after acquiring the take-and-bake assets from Aryzta North America.

Source: Rich Products / Just Food / Milling Middle East & Africa / Frozen Foods Biz