Italian pasta maker Barilla has signed an agreement to acquire the Back to Nature food brand from US-based B&G Foods for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 1960, the brand is mainly distributed in the US natural and specialty channels and its portfolio consists of plant-based, non-GMO products that compete in the cookies, crackers, granola and nuts and trail mix categories.
New Jersey-based B&G Foods purchased Back to Nature five years ago for around $162 million (€153 million).
The company plans to use the net proceeds from the sale to repay long-term debt, while it focuses on its businesses that are key to its long-term strategy.
About The Deal
According to B&G Foods, the sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to the fulfilment of customary closing conditions.
For Barilla, the acquisition is in line with its long-term strategy to build a strong multi-brand bakery platform in the United States, where it is already market leader in the crisp bread category with the Wasa brand.
The acquisition is part of the Italian group’s strategic plan to increasingly focus on foreign markets and healthier products.
The plan foresees that the weight of revenues generated abroad rise to 65% of total sales by 2030 (from 58.5% in 2021) while also taking into account the changing tastes of consumers who are increasingly attentive to the health profile of foods.
Barilla is currently a leader in the European bakery products sector and has longstanding expertise in the development of healthy snacking products.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-Brands news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
