CHICAGO — Snack-maker Benestar Brands has acquired pork-rind brand 4505 Meats. The acquisition adds to Benestar’s expanding roster of brands, including Mac’s, Porq, Turkey Creek, Pretzilla, Chicas and Cazo de Oro.
4505 was founded by Butcher and Chef Ryan Farr in the Mission District of San Francisco, where he found chicharrones in many of the small neighborhood markets. Today 4505 is a growing brand available across the US. 4505’s brand proposition is centered around prioritizing quality and using all-natural ingredients and responsibly raised meats that lead to a healthier snack, the company said. 4505 products are both keto-friendly and paleo-certified and use only humanely raised and antibiotic free (ABF) pork, it said.
“We are very excited to be partnering with Ryan, [CEO] Erik Havlick and the rest of the 4505 team,” said Bruce Myers, president of Chicago-based Benestar Brands. “4505 has quickly established itself as one of the most innovative and exciting brands in the salty-snack industry.”
Havlick, who will continue to lead 4505, said, “Teaming up with Benestar Brands and [its parent company] Highlander Partners represents an exciting new chapter for 4505 Meats, and is perfectly timed at an inflection point for our brand. We believe that joining Benestar Brands will enable 4505 to accelerate even faster as a leader in premium snacks.”
Jeff L. Hull, president and CEO of Highlander Partners, agreed, saying, “When we created Benestar, we established an active M&A platform in the salty-snack space targeting brands with exceptional growth prospects, unique products and strong brand equity. 4505 fits these criteria perfectly, and we are thrilled to welcome 4505 into Benestar.” Jeff Partridge, executive chairman of Benestar and a partner at Highlander, added, “4505 created the premium pork-rind category and established better-for-you standards that previously didn’t exist. This addition to our portfolio of brands couldn’t be a more appropriate fit.”
Dallas-based Highlander Partners LP is a private investment firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in target industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience, including basic manufacturing, food, chemicals, consumer products and others.
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