HANOVER, Pa. — Continuing a string of recent acquisition activity, salty-snack maker Utz Brands Inc. has acquired niche snack company R.W. Garcia Holdings LLC for a total purchase price of $56 million.
RW Garcia is a family-owned and operated artisan maker of high-quality organic tortilla chips, crackers and corn chips. All of RW Garcia products are non-GMO verified, certified gluten-free, low sodium, kosher and free of artificial additives or preservatives. With manufacturing facilities located in Nevada and North Carolina, RW Garcia has the production capacity to support the continued growth of the Utz portfolio of brands, it said.
Based in Scott’s Valley, Calif., RW Garcia is complementary to Utz’s June 2021 acquisition of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Festida Foods, providing Utz with strategically well-placed production capabilities in the north, east and west regions of the United States, the company said.
Since going public and debuting on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in August 2020, Utz Brands has made a string of acquisitions to grow its snack portfolio and extend its geographic reach. These have included:
- Acquiring the H.K. Anderson peanut butter-filled pretzel business from Conagra Brands Inc. in September 2020
- The purchase of Truco Enterprises, maker of tortilla chips, salsa and queso under the On the Border brand in November 2020
- The acquisition of the Vitner’s snack brand from Snak-King Corp. in January
- The purchase of 21 direct-store delivery (DSD) routes from National Food Corp. in March that expanded the snack company’s reach in the Central Florida region.
Utz Brands used balance sheet cash and its revolving credit facility to fund the R.W. Garcia Holdings acquisition. Utz expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings in fiscal 2022 and beyond.
Correcting Sales Data
Meanwhile, Utz Brands is reporting its IRI all channel (MULO-C) retail sales data for the four-week and 12-week periods ended Oct. 31 and Nov. 28. The company is providing this interim update of Utz’s retail sales trends to correct what it said were inaccurately low previously reported syndicated data for these periods due to missing new items.
According to the corrected information, for the four-week period ended Oct. 31, the company’s retail sales as measured by IRI increased 8.7% vs. the same period last year and increased 9.7% on a two-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) basis vs. the same period in 2019. For the 12-week period ended Oct. 31, 2021, the company’s retail sales increased 7.7% vs. the same period last year and increased 10.2% on a two-year CAGR basis vs. the same period in 2019.
For the four-week period ended Nov. 28, the company’s retail sales as measured by IRI increased 10.9% vs. the same period last year and increased 10.8% on a two-year CAGR basis vs. the same period in 2019. For the 12-week period ended Nov. 28, the company’s retail sales increased 9.7% vs. the same period last year and increased 10.6% on a two-year CAGR basis vs. the same period in 2019.
Hanover, Pa.-based Utz Brands manufactures a portfolio of savory snacks under brands including Utz, Zapp’s, Golden Flake, Good Health, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian Brand and Tortiyahs!
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