Baking & Snack - November 2018 - 18

Empire Bakery to expand
production plant in Virginia
Empire Bakery Commissary, Cincinnati, a commercial producer
of ready-made cakes, cookies and single-serve desserts, plans to
invest $10.4 million to expand its Rocky Mount, VA, production
plant by 32,000 sq ft. The expansion is expected to be completed in
2019 and will add 75 local jobs.
Gov. Ralph Northam approved a $225,000 grant from the
Commonwealth's Opportunity Fund to assist Franklin county in getting the project, while the Virginia Tobacco Region
Revitalization Commission approved $140,000 in Tobacco Region
Opportunity Funds for the project.
"Empire Bakery is a valuable employer that has flourished in
Virginia for more than 20 years, achieving tremendous growth
and the sweet taste of success," Mr. Northam said. "We are proud
to have a partner like Empire Bakery in Franklin county, and
I commend the company's decision to expand and reinvest in
Southside Virginia."
Founded in 1997, Empire Bakery sells its products to a broad
range of retailers, including Kroger Co., Food Lion and Wegman's.
- Eric Schroeder, Food Business News

Peak Rock adds Pretzels, Inc.,
to portfolio
Private equity firm Peak Rock Capital, Austin, TX, expanded its presence in the food category by acquiring of Pretzels, Inc., Bluffton, IN.
Pretzels, Inc., supplies a range of salty snack products, including
traditional, peanut butter-filled, flavored, seasonal and gluten-free
pretzels, as well as extruded snack products. The company has manufacturing facilities in Bluffton and Plymouth, IN.
"Our investment in Pretzels, Inc., reinforces Peak Rock's focus on
investing in industry-leading food and beverage businesses that are
positioned to capitalize on near-term growth opportunities," said
Robert Strauss, managing director of Peak Rock. "We are excited
to partner with the company's talented management team and the
Huggins and Mann families to grow this snack platform through
product innovation, investments in the company's capabilities and
add-on acquisitions."
William (Chip) Mann II, co-CEO of Pretzels, Inc., said the company's founding families have spent the past 40 years growing the
company into an industry-leading supplier of premium brands to
key retailers.
"We are excited to partner with Peak Rock and draw on the firm's
demonstrated expertise in growing businesses through expanded capabilities and investments in product development, which will allow
us to further serve our customers," Mr. Mann said.
- Eric Schroeder, Food Business News

18 Baking & Snack November 2018 / www.bakingandsnack.com

More than 10,000 meals
packed at Corbion food drive
The ninth annual "Pack It Up for Harvesters" event brought Kansas
City businesses together to pack more than 10,000 holiday meals for
Harvesters, a food bank that serves 26 counties in Missouri and Kansas.
Held Oct. 18, more than 150 employees from Corbion, Lenexa,
KS; Sosland Publishing Company, Anderson Partners, and Winco
Fireworks packaged non-perishable foods.
"Our 'Pack It Up for Harvesters' event is always a special day for
Corbion employees, who have become quite invested in making a difference for the Harvesters cause in the Kansas City area," said Andy
Muller, executive vice-president, Biobased Ingredients, Corbion.
Since 2011, Corbion has worked with Harvesters to provide more
than 270,000 meals to Kansas City families in need. The annual event
combines employees' monetary contributions with a corporate gift to
purchase food donations.

National Bread Month
toolkit offered by ABA, GFF
The American Bakers Association (ABA) and the Grain Foods
Foundation teamed up to provide bakers with resources for promoting bread on social media during November's National Bread
Month. The toolkit included key promotional information, images
and sample social media posts.
The goal of the month dedicated to bread was to educate consumers about the health benefits and convenience of grain-based foods.
During this time, ABA urged its members to deliver cohesive and informative messaging through social media channels like Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram.
In addition to encouraging bread consumption throughout
November, the toolkit provided more than 20 messages baking companies used to spread the word about bread's benefits and encouraged bakeries to use specific hashtags to increase a post's visibility.

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Baking & Snack - November 2018

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