Rich Products is aiming to “drive long-term growth in the pizza category” with the acquisition of Illinois-based Great Kitchens Food Company.
Family-owned Rich Products has bought the pizza maker from private-equity firm Brynwood Partners for an undisclosed sum.
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Great Kitchens operates out of three manufacturing facilities – two in Illinois located in Romeoville and Chicago Heights, and a third in Brockton, Massachusetts. All of its 1,000 workers will transfer to the new owners.
As well as ready-to-bake branded topped pizzas, Great Kitchens is also present in private label.
Kevin Spratt, Rich Products’ president for the US and Canada, said in a statement: “We’re always looking for new ways to enhance our pizza capabilities and this move is a game-changer for the industry.
“When you combine Great Kitchens’ leadership in fully topped pizzas with our strength in crust and dough, you get a one-stop pizza partner with an unmatched breadth of expertise that will allow us to accelerate growth, drive greater innovation and deliver unique and distinct value to our customers.”
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By GlobalDataGreat Kitchens expanded in 2023 with the acquisition of Uno Foods Division from Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp. It owns the Pizzeria Uno Chicago chain and retail pizza brand but also sells its products, which include flatbreads, strombolis and calzones, into grocers, foodservice, club stores and online.
In a separate statement, Brynwood Partners said it formed Great Kitchens in 2020 when the investor acquired the take-and-bake pizza and flatbread business in North America from the Swiss bakery group Aryzta.
Henk Hartong, the chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners, said: “We are pleased to announce the divestiture of Great Kitchens Food Company to Rich’s and are grateful to all the employees for their dedication to the business.
“Our employees and management team in our three factories worked tirelessly to grow and improve the Great Kitchens business during our ownership period.”
Meanwhile, Admir Basic, president and CEO of Great Kitchens, said the new owners will “bring the size and scale required for us to unlock new opportunities”.
He added: “By merging our unique strengths, we have a huge opportunity to accelerate innovation and raise the bar across the industry.”
Outside the US, Rich Products invested in the UK cookie-dough business Doughlicious last year through its venture-capital arm.
Brynwood Partners, meanwhile, acquired the Chef Boyardee pasta business from Conagra Brands last year through its portfolio company Hometown Food.
