Grupo Bimbo Acquires Emmy’s Organics

With humble beginnings as a maker of “hippie health food,” gluten-free and vegan cookie brand Emmy’s Organics is now a step closer to its goal of becoming a “legacy brand.” The brand has been acquired by Grupo Bimbo, the Mexico-based baked goods giant announced last week, and will join its Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU) portfolio alongside brands such as Entenmann’s, Thomas, Sara Lee and Arnold.

Terms of the sale, which was closed in May and first shared on Grupo Bimbo’s second quarter earnings call last week, were not disclosed.

Founded in 2009 by husband-and-wife duo Samantha Abrams and Ian Gaffney, Emmy’s offers a variety of organic coconut-based cookies. Sold at 15,000 retail locations nationwide, Emmy’s can be found in retailers including Whole Foods, Walmart, Wegmans, Sprouts and CVS. The brand self-manufactures 85% of its products in its 20,000 square foot facility in Ithaca, New York.

The addition of Emmy’s will give Grupo Bimbo and BBU “an entry point into the quickly growing better-for-you cookie and sweet baked goods market,” Grupo Bimbo noted in a press release. Catering to changing consumer eating habits is an area of focus for the wider company and its Bimbo Ventures arm, which also took a minority stake in allergy-friendly baked good brand Rule Breaker Snacks in February.

As part of the deal, all 38 members of the Emmy’s team, including its current executive leadership, will be retained, with CEO Bill Kelly now holding the role of general manager. Its full product portfolio will continue to be manufactured at its New York facility, Abrams said.

Since its founding, Gaffney said Emmy’s had operated without taking any outside investment in order to “be in the driver’s seat when making decisions.” Kelly, who first joined as CFO in 2014 and then became CEO in 2018, further helped the company continue to grow, while remaining independent. Just prior to COVID, however, the company found that it was “at an inflection point,” posting double digit growth year over year. At this point, Abrams said, it became clear that not taking capital was actually hindering the company’s ability to grow faster.

Emmy’s initially connected with Grupo Bimbo to discuss a minority investment, Abrams said, but over time the conversations switched to the possibility of an outright acquisition. Abrams and Gaffney said the choice to sell, although coming earlier than they initially expected, was driven by the opportunity to fully utilize BBU’s expertise while also expanding employee benefits.

“We have a lot of really exciting growth goals. From product innovation to sales, we now just have a lot more support and resources,” Abrams said. “We’re really excited to be able to keep growing the company and really see it do what we’ve always known it could do.”

But it’s not just resources that employees gain from the deal. Abrams and Gaffney said they are giving a portion of the proceeds from the sale to the company’s entire staff, which includes a manufacturing team made up solely of refugees from Burma.

“It was one of the best days we’ve had as entrepreneurs,” Abrams said. “We’ve always recognized that everyone at Emmy’s has had a hand in our growth, from our VP of sales to our sanitation crew, and so we wanted everyone to be rewarded for this sale — not just us.”

The acquisition also gives Emmy’s more resources to grow its direct-to-consumer business as it works to maintain increased velocities garnered during the pandemic, Gaffney said. The company also aims to further grow its distribution footprint across retailers and geographies, with particular emphasis on growing in the conventional channel.

Emmy’s innovation pipeline will remain focused on sweet baked goods for now, Gaffney said, though “entering new spaces is definitely in our sights.” This month, the brand is already moving beyond its coconut cookie offerings with the launch of a new line of snackable crisp brownie products called Brownie Snaps, online and exclusively at Whole Foods.

Launching over a decade ago just as gluten-free products were just beginning to gain traction, Gaffney admitted he didn’t think Emmy’s would amount to “much more than us at the farmers market.” However, the two said the rapid growth in the better-for-you baked good space — from product to packaging innovations — has been “super inspiring to see.” With continued momentum in the space and new resources for the growth, the sale has put the brand in “the best position to become a legacy brand,” Abrams said.

“We’ve had a very different journey than a lot of others in the industry,” she said. “There’s just not always one path, there’s not one formula for success. And I think we’re now definitely an example that that is possible.”