PE-Backed Turri’s Adds Joseph’s Premium Frozen Products

Benford Capital Partners-owned Turri’s Italian Foods has acquired Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta from LaSalle Capital in a deal announced on Tuesday. Piper Sandler & Co. served as the exclusive financial advisor to Joseph’s.

The Massachusetts-based food manufacturer produces a range of frozen stuffed pasta, sauces and appetizers for regional, independent and national foodservice and retail channel chains in addition to offering private label and co-manufacturing services from its 160,000 sq. ft. facility in Haverhill, Mass.

Joseph’s, which was once owned by Italian food brand Buitoni Food Company while it was under the wing of Nestle Prepared Foods, has changed hands a few times since it was founded by Joe Faro in 1991. Brynwood Partners sold the business to LaSalle back in 2019; the former had acquired the company after it was spun out from Buitoni and Nestle in a separate PE deal.

Faro’s proximity to Joseph’s business does not end there. The serial food entrepreneur later founded restaurant, catering and retail group Tuscan Brands in 2010 and rallied his partners to buy Buitoni in September 2024. While that deal did not include Joseph’s, Faro continues to build food manufacturing businesses in similar forms, including founding The Artisan Chef Manufacturing Co. in 2019.

Now, Joseph’s will move on and join forces with Michigan-based Turri’s, which is also a recent addition to Benford’s growing food portfolio. The PE firm acquired frozen pasta and rice producer Turri’s nearly a year ago and has been steadily building out its food portfolio via its $200 million Fund II.

Benford added baked snack company Legacy Bakehouse in 2024 and has since added Angelic Bakehouse (2024) and Classic Cookie (2025) to its growing snack platform. Previously, it acquired pantry goods producer Saco Foods in 2017, adding Hoosier Hill Farm, California Sun Dry and Solo Foods to that branch in the years since.

The firm also owns Hispanic food outfit RP Foods as well as specialty egg business Farmers Hen House.

The news follows a growing consolidation within the co-manufacturing space, marked by private equity-backed rollups such as Benford’s. Joseph’s transaction also comes alongside the debut of upstart stuffed pasta producer Ripi, which aims to become a national player in the frozen pasta set.

The frozen pasta space currently lacks a premium, national brand leader and is primarily dominated by regional producers. Additionally, refrigerated alternative Buitoni had been experiencing sales declines prior to Tuscan Brands’ acquisition of the business, signaling there may be whitespace for a startup brand to disrupt the category.