Ferrero has made a move to expand its breakfast range with the acquisition of US food company Purely Elizabeth.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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Established in 2009, Colorado-based Purely Elizabeth sells breakfast products including granola, oatmeal, and cereal.
The deal follows Ferrero’s $3.1bn acquisition last year of US breakfast cereals business WK Kellogg. That purchase added brands including Froot Loops and Raisin Bran to the family-owned group’s stable.
In a statement on Friday (14 August), the Nutella maker said it will “support Purely Elizabeth’s next phase of growth through continued product innovation, operational capabilities and expanded distribution”.
Lapo Civiletti, who became president of Ferrero Ice Cream and WK Kellogg in March after a management rejig, described Purely Elizabeth as a “highly complementary addition”.
“This acquisition reflects our long-term strategy to invest in high-growth categories and further enhance our presence in the better-for-you offerings across breakfast occasions and beyond,” Civiletti said.
Ferrero said the deal is due to be completed in the “coming months”, pending standard closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Elizabeth Stein, the founder and CEO of Purely Elizabeth, will retain her post along with the Boulder-based firm’s leadership team.
“In Ferrero, we’ve found a family-owned company that believes deeply in what we’ve built and sees the tremendous opportunity still ahead,” Stein said.
In March, Ferrero struck a deal to acquire Brazilian protein-bar producer Bold Snacks, marking its entry into the better-for-you category in South America.
Last year saw the Tic Tac and Kinder brands owner buy California-based protein snacks company Power Crunch.
Last month, Ferrero set out plans to invest $86m in a manufacturing plant in Mexico to expand capacity and increase the exports from the site.
The company said the spending at the site in Guanajuato in central Mexico included work to raise the site’s production capacity for Nutella.
