B&G Sells Off Italian Brands as Net Sales Keep Dropping Double-Digits

In a push to help pay off long-term debt, B&G Foods is selling two of its tomato products brands – Don Pepino and Sclafani – to Violet Foods LLC, a newly formed portfolio company.

Violet Foods is a subsidiary of Amphora Equity Partners LLC, which invests in the North American packaged food and beverage sector.

“The divestiture of the Don Pepino and Sclafani brands is consistent with our efforts to reshape our portfolio, focus on our core brands and reduce long-term debt,” said B&G Foods president and CEO Kenneth “Casey” Keller in a press release. “We believe that Amphora is the right owner to support the future growth of the Don Pepino and Sclafani brands.”

The announcement comes after B&G said it is committed to divesting portions of its portfolio in light of a $222.4 million net loss during the fourth quarter revealed in a February earnings report. At the time he said that simplifying the company’s product portfolio was a “very high priority” in order to create “a more efficient cost structure”.

In its Q1 2025 earnings report earlier this month, B&G announced a 10.5% drop in net sales to $425.4 million (a decline of $49.8 million from the year before). The company cited lower volume sales and net pricing, as well as poor product mix and a negative impact from foreign currency.

“While January and February were especially difficult, recent net sales in March, April and early May have begun to show stabilizing trends versus last year,” Keller said in a statement announcing the first-quarter earnings. “We remain laser focused on our critical priorities: improving our core business net sales trends, reshaping our portfolio for future growth and higher margins, and reducing leverage through divestitures and excess cash flow to facilitate strategic acquisitions.”

The company previously sold its Green Giant shelf-stable business in November 2023, and a year later Keller said the company was exploring selling “some or all” of the legacy vegetable brand’s frozen assets.

Don Pepino and Sclafani are both decades-old Italian food brands with products including pizza and pasta sauces, crushed tomatoes, tomato puree and whole peeled tomatoes.

The acquisition also includes B&G’s Williamstown, N.J., production facility where both brands are manufactured.

While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, B&G said it will use the “net proceeds from the sale for the repayment of long-term debt,” and BofA Securities, Inc. served as a financial advisor on the deal.