Forward Consumer Partners Acquires Xochitl
Dallas, Texas-based tortilla chip and salsa brand Xochitl has become the second brand to join private equity firm Forward Consumer Partners’ portfolio.
The firm, which closed its first $425 million fund in December 2023, announced today it has acquired a 50% stake in the company. Carlos Salinas, Xochitl’s founder, CEO and chairman, will retain the remaining 50%.
Founded in 1995, Xochitl sells a 7-SKU line of tortilla chips, in addition to rotating seasonal varieties, as well as four shelf-stable salsa products. The brand is sold at retailers nationwide including Whole Foods, Target, Safeway, Walmart, Central Market and Shaw’s, among many others.
“As I looked for the right partner for our next chapter, it was essential to find a team with the experience, ambition and character to match the mission we’ve honored for three decades,” said Salinas in a press release. “Forward brings the vision and execution to help achieve our aspirations, and I couldn’t be more excited to embark on this journey together.”
The news comes one month after Forward scooped up Virginia-based Firehook Bakery, but according to the firm’s founder and managing partner, Matt Leeds, neither deal came together overnight: “This deal.. took five years to come to fruition. We also just closed our Firehook Bakery acquisition 39 days ago, and that one took seven years. So we are nothing if not patient.”
A preference for patience is ingrained in the firm’s investment thesis as well, Leeds emphasized. Both of its portfolio brands have been around for multiple decades, building their premium snack businesses slowly and steadily under their original founders with unique and focused product portfolios.
“Forward is focused on ‘Powerful Brands That Make Beloved Products,’ and Xochitl really fits this paradigm perfectly,” said Leeds. “It’s an enduring, authentic, premium brand built the right way over 30 years, and the business is strong as well. The team is passionate but small, leaving a lot of room for growth in the future.”
The deal will put Leeds in the chairman seat and bring two new board members to Xochitl: Carl Lee, former CEO of Snyder’s-Lance and former executive at Frito-Lay and Nabisco, and Maura Mottolese, CEO of Firehook Bakery and former CEO of Cholula and Tate’s Bake Shop.
And those appointments are just the beginning of building something bigger. Leeds emphasized that Forward will work to build out the team across all functions in order to support future growth. He noted that the brand doesn’t currently have any executives or spend against the brand: “We’ll look to add resources there.”
Leeds, who spent over eight years as a partner at investment firm L Catterton and worked with brands including Cholula, Kodiak and Inspired Pet Nutrition, has significant growth plans mapped out for the minority-owned and operated brand.
“We will also focus on building out the production capabilities to support more scale,” he detailed. “Phase two will be around driving awareness and distribution for the existing products. Phase three will be about innovation across flavors, formats, pack sizes and channels.”
