Brynwood Partners VIII announced that its newly-formed portfolio company, Great Kitchens Food Company Inc., has acquired Aryzta North America’s take-and-bake pizza business. Terms and conditions of the deal are not being disclosed, according to a statement. With this acquisition, Brynwood Partners has now acquired 56 brands from 21 different corporate sellers.
Great Kitchens will be headquartered in Romeoville, IL and will continue to operate a crust manufacturing facility in Chicago Heights, IL and a topping plant in Romeoville, IL. Admir Basic, who previously worked for Aryzta, will now become Great Kitchens’ President and Chief Commercial Officer. Bill Steckel will join Great Kitchens as its Chief Financial Officer.
Great Kitchens is the market leader in private label take-and-bake pizza. The products and flatbreads are sold to grocery, club and mass retailers, as well as into foodservice outlets nationally.
“We are thrilled to announce the creation of Great Kitchens,” Henk Hartong III, chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners said. “We are excited to return to the private-label pizza space with this new investment. Our prior investment in the private label frozen pizza space with Richelieu Foods, Inc. was very successful and we are confident in the prospects for Great Kitchens. We look forward to bringing a significant level of investment in new products and recipe innovations to our retail partners through our best-in-class facilities.”