The new owners of Scharffen Berger want to build the presence of the US chocolate brand across the country.
Paul Cherrie, a former executive at US confectioner The Topps Company, has teamed up with investment firm Hampton Roads Capital to buy Scharffen Berger from Hershey.
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The deal, struck for an undisclosed sum, was finalised last year but publicly announced this week. Hershey had owned the brand since 2005.
Cherrie and his colleagues have moved the new Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker business to a facility in Ashland, Oregon.
“The Scharffen Berger brand is well-known, highly-regarded and has strong retail distribution on the west coast and in the north-east region,” Cherrie told Just Food. “Our goal is to gain deeper distribution in those key areas as well as to expand distribution in key markets across the US in grocery, specialty and fine food channels.”
He added: “At the outset, we are sticking with our core best-selling baking and tasting product formats, with an eye toward innovation as we get the brand back to its rightful place in the consumer mindset.”
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By GlobalDataAt present, Scharffen Berger is sold in the US market through retailers including Wegmans Food Markets and H-E-B, to bakers and pastry chefs and via e-commerce.
Hershey sold Scharffen Berger as it looked to reshape its portfolio. The US confectionery giant’s recent acquisition activity has included adding salty snacks and nutrition bars to its range.
Former Hershey executives Ray Major and Peter Lord feature in the team put together by Cherrie.
He added: “It was paramount to bring a deeply experienced team on board to make sure we could live up to the Scharffen Berger name and reputation from our very first chocolate run.”
