U.S. food firm J.M. Smucker has a deal in place to sell off the Canadian pickle brand Bick’s and a portfolio of condiment brands it makes for the Canadian market.
Ohio-based Smucker announced Oct. 17 it will sell the Bick’s brand plus the Habitant pickled beets, Woodman’s horseradish and McLarens pickled onions brands to Illinois private-label food firm TreeHouse for about $20 million cash (all figures US$).
TreeHouse CEO Steve Oakland said the deal will boost its depth in “our growing pickles category, allowing us to expand into Canada and thus positioning TreeHouse for continued success.”
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TreeHouse, which operates five plants in other food categories in Canada, has had a co-packing arrangement with Bick’s “for many years and we are pleased to integrate this business with our manufacturing network,” Oakland said.
Smucker said the brands in the deal generated total net sales of about $60 million in its fiscal year ended last April 30.
The Bick’s brand’s history in Canada dates back to the 1940s, when Toronto-area cucumber growers George and Walter Bick began making dill pickles. The Bick’s company was sold to Robin Hood Canada in 1966 and came to Smucker in 2004 through its deal for Robin Hood’s parent, International Multifoods.
Despite the brand’s Canadian roots, Bick’s products haven’t been made in Canada since 2011, when Smucker moved to shut the Bick’s facilities in southern Ontario and shift their work to a Smucker plant in Wisconsin and other “third-party” sites.
Tim Wayne, general manager for Smucker’s Canadian and international business, said Oct. 17 the sale would allow the company to focus on “growing our position” in the coffee, spreads, frozen handheld and pet categories in Canada. Smucker brands in Canada in those categories include Folgers, Smucker’s, Jif, Meow Mix and Milk-Bone.
The sale would also be “supporting continued leadership in the baking category” in Canada, where its brands include Robin Hood, Five Roses, Carnation and Eagle Brand.
Smucker, in its release, said it plans to close the deal in the third quarter of its current fiscal year.
On the acquisition side, Smucker in September announced a $5.6 billion bid for Hostess Brands, the maker of snack cakes such as Twinkies and HoHos and the Voortman cookie brand. That deal includes several U.S. manufacturing plants plus one at Burlington, Ont. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
