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Coca-Cola to Buy Finlandia Vodka for $220M

Brown-Forman Corporation has reached an agreement to sell its Finlandia vodka brand to Coca-Cola HBC AG for $220 million, subject to the customary closing process. The purchase is expected to close in the second half of the 2023 calendar year.

“Finlandia has played an important role in the global growth of Brown-Forman. Since the brand originally joined our portfolio in 2000, many talented individuals have worked hard to bring Finlandia vodka to the world, and I thank them for their dedication,” said Lawson Whiting, president and CEO, Brown-Forman Corporation. “We believe Coca-Cola HBC is well-suited to support Finlandia’s future growth and look forward to watching the continued evolution of the brand in their capable hands.”

“We are excited and privileged to become the new home for Finlandia vodka. This unique opportunity for us will support our mixability strategy with our core Non-Alcoholic Ready-To-Drink portfolio and sharpen our focus on the strategically important on-premise channel. We are already developing strong plans to take Finlandia to the next level by accelerating and leveraging the brand’s current momentum,” said Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO, Coca-Cola HBC AG. “Lastly, I would like to welcome the Finlandia team to the Coca-Cola HBC family and look forward to great successes.”

Brown-Forman has managed the shape and contents of its portfolio over the last decade and a half through developing, acquiring, and divesting various businesses and brands. The company acquired Finlandia from Altia Corp. (predecessor to the current production partner Anora Group Plc) in multiple phases, obtaining full ownership in 2004.

For more than 150 years, Brown-Forman Corporation has enriched the experience of life by responsibly building fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel’s Ready-to-Drinks, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, Coopers’ Craft, The GlenDronach, Benriach, Glenglassaugh, Slane, Herradura, el Jimador, New Mix, Korbel, Sonoma-Cutrer, Finlandia, Chambord, Fords Gin, Gin Mare, and Diplomático Rum. Brown-Forman’s brands are supported by approximately 5,600 employees globally and sold in more than 170 countries worldwide.

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Ferraro Foods Acquires GDS Foods Inc.

Ferraro Foods, one of the country’s largest specialty distributors of food and foodservice supplies to pizzerias and Italian restaurants, has acquired New Jersey-based GDS Foods Inc., an importer and distributor of Italian food products to pizzerias throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Ferraro’s partnership with the Sussex, N.J., based business, with nearly $50 million in annual sales revenue, expands Ferraro’s growing network of distribution hubs in a crucial market for pizzerias, adds hundreds of customers to its roster and helps broaden Ferraro’s industry leading offering of specialty imported Italian food products.

“We are excited to partner with GDS, a terrific family-run business with strong roots in the area going back 35 years. We love the business, we love the people, and they have a loyal customer base that aligns perfectly with Ferraro’s. Just as important, GDS is pizza to the core, so they are a perfect fit for the Ferraro culture,” said Dan Hill, CEO, Ferraro Foods.

The GDS partnership is the latest in a robust acquisition pipeline under development by Ferraro, aimed at increasing its market share in critical Northeast pizza markets – home of the country’s largest concentration of independent pizzerias. The news comes on the heels of Ferraro’s announcement of its addition of a 230,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Long Island.

“Ferraro Foods is pizza,” Hill added. “That message is reverberating throughout the industry as we continue to increase our customer base as the premier provider in the specialty Italian foods space.”

Headquartered in New Jersey since its founding as a family business nearly 50 years ago, Ferraro Foods is America’s leading distributor of specialty Italian foods and foodservice supplies to pizzerias and Italian restaurants. With a concentration in the critical pizza markets of the Northeast and customers spanning 26 states serviced by distribution divisions in Upstate New York, Long Island, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida and Indiana, Ferraro Foods boasts annual sales revenue of nearly $1.3 billion. Working every day to earn and build trusted relationships by delivering an unrivaled menu of authentic, top-quality offerings, unmatched specialized category expertise and consistently exceptional value and service, Ferraro Foods is pizza.

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Impossible Foods Adds Veteran Execs to Team

Impossible Foods has added two seasoned executives to its leadership team to oversee several critical business functions.

Veteran industrial biotechnology leader Sunil Chandran is joining Impossible Foods as its chief science officer to oversee the company’s R&D and innovation departments, with a focus on improving Impossible’s existing products and introducing new innovations to its product portfolio. Chandran joins Impossible from Amyris Inc., where he spent more than 17 years bringing new fermentation-derived ingredients to market, most recently as its chief science officer and head of R&D.

Accomplished supply chain leader Rob Haas is joining Impossible Foods as its chief supply chain officer, where he’ll oversee all parts of Impossible’s supply chain, from ingredient sourcing to dynamic forecasting. A 30+ year industry veteran with experience in the United States, APAC and Western Europe, Haas brings nearly 20 years of leadership experience from Anheuser Busch InBev, where he served as the global VP of ingredients, supply chain as well as the CEO and president of Metal Container Corporation, an AB InBev subsidiary. Most recently, Haas was the chief supply officer at EverGrain Ingredients, a sustainable ingredient company created and backed by AB InBev to upcycle its barley grains into high quality, nutritious ingredients and plant proteins.

“Sunil and Rob are exceptional leaders who know how to run critical business functions at scale,” said Peter McGuinness, president and CEO of Impossible Foods. “In addition to the depth and breadth of their expertise, they’re also both genuinely motivated by our mission and want to help us succeed in service of that. I’m excited to usher in this next phase of growth under their leadership.”

The hires follow several key executive appointments for Impossible Foods in the past six months as it continues to invest in its leadership team and growth strategy. In January, the company welcomed its first chief demand officer, Sherene Jagla, as well as its first chief marketing and creative officer, Leslie Sims. Earlier this month, Sims launched a major summer marketing effort with the introduction of two new national ad campaigns designed to welcome consumers into the plant-based category and introduce them to Impossible products.

Impossible Foods is on a mission to positively impact people and the planet by making delicious, nutritious meat from plants with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat from animals. The privately-held food company was founded in 2011 to combat climate change by taking a scientific approach to making the world’s best meat — from plants. Every nugget, burger, and patty we sell uses less land and water and generates less greenhouse gas emissions compared to the animal version. We make plant-based chicken, beef, and pork products for every meal — breakfast, lunch and dinner — with a goal of replicating the flavors, textures, and cooking characteristics that meat eaters crave.

Impossible Foods products are designed in California, produced in California and the Midwest, and are available in the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

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