Saco Foods Acquires Pamela’s, Ancient Harvest
Saco Foods is upping its gluten-free intake.
The Wisconsin-based food company announced Wednesday it has acquired Quinoa Corporation, the parent company of legacy gluten-free food brands Ancient Harvest and Pamela’s, from Encore Consumer Capital. Former Quinoa Corporation CEO John Becker will now serve as president of the two brands. Terms of the deal were not disclosed
“I am excited to be joining the Saco platform, as it is a natural fit for our brands,” Becker said in a press release. “With the support of Saco, we have a great opportunity to reinvigorate these brands and expand our distribution while maintaining the high quality standards our customers and end consumers expect.”
The deal comes after a busy year for Saco, which owns a variety of gluten-free, shelf-stable dairy, baking and confectionery businesses. In January it acquired Solo Foods, the maker of cake and pastry fruit fillings, almond paste and marzipan, from Chicago-based Sokol & Company. At the end of that same month, Saco’s then-owner Benford Capital Partners exited, selling Saco off to Fengate Private Equity and Weathervane Investment Corp.
During Benford’s investment period, Saco Foods grew “over seven fold” via both organic initiatives as well as acquisitions which included sun-dried tomato producer California Sun Dry in 2018 and baking ingredients and snack products maker Hoosier Hill Farm in 2021. Saco’s portfolio also includes confectionery chocolate dips and coatings brand Dolci Frutta and instant dry milk, buttermilk and baking ingredients platform Saco Pantry.
The addition of Ancient Harvest and Pamela’s, which have both been around for over 30 years, brings a more distinct focus on gluten-free diets to the company’s portfolio of conventional confectionery and baking products. Both brands will be in good company in Saco’s portfolio: After all, the company originated as a pantry staple pioneer post-World War II as the first producer of instant dry milk and later, the first instant hot cocoa mix, Swiss Miss.
“Broadening our offering with their quality products complements our existing portfolio and leverages our shared service platform to improve service and reinvest in innovation to drive the organic growth of these great legacy brands,” said Tom Walzer, CEO of Saco Foods, in a press release.
Ancient Harvest, which helped introduce quinoa to the U.S. in the late 1980s currently sells a lineup of quinoa, protein pastas, hot cereal and polenta.
Pamela’s, which was acquired by Quinoa Corporation in 2020, produces gluten-free baking mixes, snack bars, cookies, graham crackers and flours. Following its 2020 acquisition, Becker and his team worked to bring the bakery brand into the modern era, discontinued low-performing SKUs and cut its 150-count product lineup in half.
Under Becker’s direction, Pamela’s business also shifted to an asset-light structure, leaving behind the majority of its team and production facility and moving into a network of co-manufacturers and distribution partners as well as tapping the expertise of Ancient Harvest’s existing team.
As of 2022, Ancient Harvest and Pamela’s managed over 80 products across seven center-store categories and had distribution in over 20,000 stores nationwide; Becker said at the time Pamela’s alone was a $30 million brand.
