Monogram Foods, a manufacturer and marketer of beef jerky, corn dogs, pre-cooked bacon and other value-added meat products, is getting into the frozen appetizer business. With a winning bid of $37.2 million, the Memphis, Tennessee, USA-headquartered company is buying the Golden County Foods business, which rings up approximately $100 million annual sales.
Plover, Wisconsin-based Golden County Foods, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 15, ranks as the world’s largest producer of frozen potato skins and is a major supplier of potato sticks, potato bites with fillings, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, churros, other appetizers, snacks and side dishes, as well as hand-held items. It has 550 employees and two production facilities.
Active in contract co-packing, the company manufactures proprietary branded products and private labels for retail and foodservice markets. Among the items it makes are IHOP At Home Flatbread Breakfast Sandwiches and Snaps Loaded Potato Sticks.
The transaction is slated to close in mid-July. Thereafter, Monogram Foods will own manufacturing plants in six states, all of which have been acquired over the past nine years. During that period, the company has grown from 15 employees to over 2,300 with the addition of Golden County Foods, while simultaneously increasing revenues from $8 million in 2004 to more than $500 million in 2015.
“This acquisition helps to strengthen our position and commitment to the frozen foods category. The acceptance of our bid marks another important milestone in the growth of Monogram Foods and our commitment to not only save, but also to create jobs in the markets in which we operate,” stated Chairman and CEO Karl Schledwitz.
About Monogram Foods
Founded in 2004 with the purchase of King Cotton and Circle B brand meats from Sara Lee Corporation, Monogram Foods’ brands include Wild Bill’s, O’Brien’s, Trail’s Best, Hannah’s, Bull’s and licensed brands Bass Pro Shop’s Uncle Buck’s, Johnsonville, Butterball and Team Realtree. The company operates facilities in Virginia, Minnesota, Indiana, Texas, Iowa and soon Wisconsin.
