The Whole Bowl: Briannas Acquires New Salad-Parts
After 40 years in the salad dressing business, Briannas is shaking things up. The company is opening a new chapter that includes new category expansions and, as announced last week, the acquisition of cheese snack maker John Wm. Macy’s by its parent company Del Sol Foods for an undisclosed sum.
Both Briannas and John Wm. Macy’s will continue to manufacture products at their existing facilities in Brenham, Texas and Elmwood Park, New Jersey, respectively. However, the deal provides Del Sol with in-house, potentially synergistic manufacturing capabilities for Briannas’ first non-liquid product: a 3-SKU seasoned crouton line, launched last month
“We want to acknowledge the tremendous efforts put forth by John and Tim Macy and their talented and dedicated workforce who have been crafting artisanal snacks consumers love,” said Scott Eckert, president and CEO of Del Sol Food Company, Inc, in a press release. “Our philosophy is very similar, so we believe we will enjoy great synergy as we work together in the future.”
John Wm. Macy’s makes a 5-SKU CheeseSticks line as well as CheeseCrisps available in five flavors ranging from Asiago Cheddar and Melting Romano to Dijion Swiss and Cheddar and Scallion. In 2019, the company introduced its first non-cheese snack – Grilled Crostini Toasts – made from sliced sourdough baguettes and seasoned with olive oil and sea salt.
“Ever since our breakthrough order from a flagship Manhattan specialty store almost 40 years ago, we’ve been thrilled to provide our products to an enthusiastic and growing audience,” said John Macy, president of John Wm. Macy’s, in a press release. “This exciting partnership with Del Sol Foods will enable the company to follow this passion for years to come.”
Briannas also recently launched a new line of marinades in Sriracha Honey Ginger, Classic Steak, Roasted Garlic and Herb, Smoked Chipotle and Lime and Citrus Mediterranean flavors. The small batch dressings are sold nationwide and distributed to 10 countries outside of the U.S. The brand also has a presence in food service with its channel-exclusive bulk and single-serve formats.
As Briannas goes deeper into the salad set, it is now positioned to capture new market opportunities. Cheese crisps became a popular salad topper with the rise of the Keto diet, however, the category has garnered adoption beyond the diet trend and within the snack space with Whisps, ParmCrisps and Sonoma Creamery focused on the space. Market researcher Grand View Research expects the category, currently valued at $64.7 billion, to grow 6.3% by 2030.
In contrast, the crouton set has been in steady decline, dropping 14% over the past year. Chicago-based crouton focused startup Kooshy launched last year, claiming to have made the first non-GMO crouton and launched numerous vegan varieties, but elsewhere, the category has seen little innovation or new entrants.
The salad dressing market saw category-consistent, but modest (+2%) growth throughout 2022. The slower-turning, center store category has regularly seen low single-digit year-over-year growth, meaning that expansion into salad-adjacent categories likely presents larger, long term growth opportunities.
