Custom Made Meals (CMM), which supplies oven-ready meals to grocery retailers and foodservice distributors, is acquiring Hearthside Food Solutions' ready-to-cook and ready-to-heat manufacturing assets.
The acquisition will expand Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.-based CMM’s regional footprint and expand its product portfolio in value-added seafood, particularly in ready-to-heat categories, as well as sandwiches and wraps, the company said. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Built in 2005, Hearthside’s facility in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.A. manufactures a broad portfolio of products ranging from fresh products to refrigerated kits, raw proteins, and ready-to-cook and ready-to-heat meals, according to CMM. The plant holds SQF Level 3, FDA, and USDA certifications.
“The acquisition includes a dedicated team that has extensive experience in food manufacturing and who carry an unwavering commitment to quality and on-time, in-full performance,” Doug Burris, the CEO of sister companies CMM and Country Fresh, said. “We are confident that the combined capabilities of our network will allow us to better serve grocery chains and food service distributors nationwide.”
CMM, which provides fresh, oven-ready, value-added entrees and appetizers is “uniquely positioned as a leading U.S. supplier in the space capable of serving retailer locations nationwide with product SKU breadth, depth, and complexity,” the company said.
Customers are looking to CMM as a “value-added partner to assist in the expansion of their value-added fresh offerings,” said Trey Lee, managing director at Stellex Capital Management, a private equity firm that invested in this acquisition and also invests in other middle market companies in North America and Europe. “Given the proliferation of these emerging categories, we are happy to provide investment support to get ahead of retailers’ strategic requirements.”
