CHICAGO — Conagra Brands Inc. has sold its direct-store delivery (DSD) snacks business to Utz Quality Foods LLC.
The deal, for which financial terms were not disclosed, was announced in September. Brands included in the sale are Tim’s Cascade Snacks, Hawaiian Snacks, Erin’s, El Restaurante, Snyder of Berlin, Pop-N-Thin and Husman’s.
Conagra Brands acquired the DSD snacks business in October 2018 as part of its acquisition of Pinnacle Foods.
Conagra does not operate with a DSD model, and the business will have more opportunity for growth under Utz, Sean Connolly, president and CEO of Conagra Brands, has said. Snacking will continue to be a critical part of Conagra’s overall growth strategy, according to the company.
The Chicago-based business has a $2 billion snacking portfolio following the transaction. Conagra's brands include Birds Eye, Marie Callender's, Banquet, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip and Vlasic, as well as emerging brands such as Angie's Boomchickapop, Duke's, Earth Balance, Gardein and Frontera.
Founded in 1921, Utz is a family-managed, privately held salty snack company producing a full line of products, including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, corn chips, tortillas, veggie sticks/straws, popcorn, onion rings, pork skins and more. The Hanover, Pa.-based company’s brands include Utz, Golden Flake, Zapp's, Dirty Potato Chips, Good Health, Bachman, Bachman Jax, Wachusett, Snikiddy and Boulder Canyon.
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