Rietberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany-headquartered Frostkrone Tiefkühlkost GmbH has acquired Jerome, Idaho-based Rite Stuff Foods. The American company specializes in the production of frozen potato products and regards itself as the largest supplier of premium twice-baked potatoes in the nation.
Frostkrone, a portfolio company of private equity firm EMERAM Capital Partners of Munich, is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of frozen finger food and snack products. In business since 1997, Frostkrone has been on the acquisition trail for the past year, having purchased French snack and finger food manufacturer Varenne Gastronomie of Val-de-Reuil last November and savoury snack maker Piz’Wich of Bulgnéville in April.
Rite Stuff Foods, founded in 1989 by Thomas J. Madden, packs a wide assortment of spud specialties that include stuffed potatoes, stuffed potato boats, potato shells and wedges in various flavors, as well as potato pancakes, potato rolls and potato hearts. It employs 230 people and serves the industrial, retail and foodservice sectors of North America.
“We have been exporting our products to the United States since 2017, so this is a natural development for us,” said Frostkrone CEO Frédéric Dervieux. “By acquiring Rite Stuff Foods, which is firmly established in the US and has an excellent network, we now have a local presence that has come about as a result of developments and discussions with our trading partners.”
Dr. Christian Näther, managing director of EMERAM, added: “With the acquisition of Rite Stuff Foods we are opening a new chapter of Frostkrone’s corporate development. After having strengthened Frostkrone’s position in Europe over the last two years, the expansion into the US is the next step to further implement the company’s growth strategy.”
The Frostkrone group operates several modern production facilities in Germany and France, which collectively employ more than 350 people. Its extensive portfolio runs the gamut from pizza pockets, mozzarella sticks, cheesy fries, chili-cheese nuggets, onion rings chicken pops, fish sticks and sweet potato pops to mini corolles, bouchées en feuille de brick, mini croustillants and pastilla, and many other items.
