When Rich Products celebrates an anniversary, it doesn’t just throw a party, the company goes into growth mode. Throughout its 75 years in business, the family-owned, Buffalo-based food company has managed to readily identify high performance food manufacturers that can enhance its own formidable assets.
With that in mind, Rich Products – as part of its 75 year anniversary – has picked up three key corporate assets that will immediately bolster the company’s increasingly diverse product portfolio. The three additional assets are as follows:
- Rizzuto Foods, a Pacific Northwest-based leader in pizza dough innovation. Based in Spokane, WA, Rizzuto is best known for high-quality pizza and flatbread products, along with gluten-free and cauliflower crusts. Rizzuto has been family-owned for more than 60 years. Since becoming Rizzuto’s in 1991 (started in 1957 as Joe’s Drive In Pizza), the company has produced more than 1 billion pizza crusts.
- Morey’s Seafood International, a major seafood industry player based in Plymouth, MN. Founded in 1937 by Ed Morey, Morey’s has become a Minnesota icon and a legacy brand in the seafood category.
- Two manufacturing plants from TreeHouse Foods, a leading manufacturer and distributor of private label breads, rolls and cakes. The plants are located in Lodi, CA, and Fridley, MN. Cottage Bakery is one of its popular food brands. More than 400 associates across the two plants join Rich’s as part of this acquisition.
“This year, Rich’s celebrates its 75th anniversary – an incredible milestone for our family-owned company,” said chief executive officer Richard Ferranti. “As we set our sights on the next 75, we’ll remain fiercely committed to creating value for our customers and growth opportunities for our associates. Strategic acquisitions are a key ingredient in that equation.”
These most recent acquisitions see Rich’s furthering its roots in the world of baking, while continuing to expand its seafood department, which has done extremely well with its value-added seafood SeaPak brand. These types of acquisitions are part of the company’s long-term growth strategy.
“It’s no secret – an accelerated pace of change is the new normal in the marketplace, requiring a faster, more tech-savvy and data-driven approach to how we do business,” added Ferranti, whose office is responsible for building the technology, infrastructure, capabilities, and workforce that allow for adaptation to changes in consumer behavior. “How we leverage technology and our people, to lead and respond to the growing expectations of our customers, will be a key differentiator in our success moving forward. We’re up to the challenge.”