USA: Lancaster Colony announces Angelic Bakehouse acquisition

US food manufacturer Lancaster Colony has announced a new move to bolster its presence in bakery with the acquisition of Angelic Bakehouse.

The Ohio-based company said that its wholly owned subsidiary T Marzetti had entered into a definitive agreement for the sprouted grain bread firm, which manufactures products such as bread, bread crisps, crusts, wraps, buns and rolls using a "proprietary sprouting process using seven whole grains (non-GMO) including red wheat berries, quinoa, oat groats, rye berries, barley, amaranth and millet".

Commenting on the acquisition, Lancaster Colony president and chief operating officer Dave Ciesinski said: "We are thrilled to add Angelic Bakehouse and their terrific lineup of non-G.M.O. bakery products to our growing specialty foods business. Angelic Bakehouse is a highly relevant, on-trend business that produces a variety of great tasting, nutritious, non-G.M.O. bakery items featuring their proprietary sprouted mash ingredient crafted from an assortment of unique sprouted grains. As a regional retail brand in the Midwestern U.S., Angelic Bakehouse has placement in the growing specialty deli/bakery section of the grocery store".

"Beyond growth through geographic and channel expansion, we are also excited about the opportunities that the Angelic Bakehouse sprouted mash base provides for product innovation, a recent example being the introduction of Angelic Bakehouse bread crisps in three different varieties", he added.

The Angelic Bakehouse acquisition, which is expected to close in November, is the latest bid by Lancaster Colony to expand in the bakery space, following the acquisition last year of flatbread producer Flatout Holdings.

Source: Lancaster Colony / Angelic Bakehouse