Milling & Baking News - October 6, 2020 - 13

Business

ATLANTA - Edible, the world's largest
franchisor of fresh fruit arrangements
and other treats, is getting into the
baked foods category with the launch
of Edible Bakeshop. Bakeshop products
are hand-crafted and prepared fresh to
order at Edible's 1,000-plus participating locations nationwide.
The official launch of Edible Bakeshop
features the debut of miniature pumpkin
cheesecakes, which will be available for
a limited time this fall, as well as brownies. The Edible Bakeshop portfolio also
includes miniature New York-style
cheesecakes and assorted cookies like
chocolate chip and strawberry white
chocolate. Edible Bakeshop products are
sold as individual treats, as boxes and
platters and in bundles alongside the
brand's signature dipped fruits.
"As Edible's offerings continue to

evolve from special occasion purchases to everyday indulgences, it made
sense to launch the Edible Bakeshop

rise, so we have to meet our customers' demands using ingredients that
bring wholesome enjoyment to any
self-desire or gifting occasion."
Edible initially entered the baked
foods space in 2019 when the brand
successfully tested selling cheesecakes

Cheesecake and brownies are among the baked foods offered by Edible.

brand as a whole new way to delight
the consumer," said Cheikh Mboup,
president and chief operating officer of Edible. "Research shows that
indulging with sweet treats is on the

and cookies in select stores across
North America. In the coming months,
Edible plans to grow its Bakeshop category with more new products, such
as cupcakes. MBN

LifeLine Foods completes expansion
of masa facility in St. Joseph
ST. JOSEPH, MO - LifeLine Foods, Inc.
celebrated the completion of its $12 million masa mill expansion on Sept. 22 with
a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its plant in
St. Joseph.
The expanded mill will allow LifeLine
to increase its presence producing highquality masa products in the rapidly
growing Mexican food industry in the
United States.
"Masa is a corn flour used to make tortillas, tamales, chips and other products,"
said Kevin Kelly, president and chief executive officer of LifeLine Foods. "Today, tortillas not only outsell white sandwich bread
but also hot dog and hamburger buns.
Masa is perceived as healthier, and there
is tremendous growth in Hispanic cuisine.
This expansion gives us the opportunity to
aggressively compete in this category."
He said LifeLine Foods was positioned for

extensive growth over the next five years.
"Looking at and leaning into key consumer market trends has helped shape
our growth strategy," Mr. Kelly said.
"The capital investments we made in our
specialty mill a year ago, which produces
Non-GMO Project verified and USDAcertified organic products, as well as our
now completed masa mill expansion are
evidence of listening to what the market
is telling us for growth.
"We also have invested heavily in our
own people. We have a very strong team
with decades of experience within the
masa category."
As part of the masa mill expansion,
LifeLine invested more than $10 million
over the last year, $3 million of which was
invested in local contractors.
"We process nearly 26 million bus of
corn per year, and the corn we use in our

Utz Brands into filled pretzels
with
acquisition from
Conagra
The acquisition includes intellectual
HANOVER, PA. - Utz Quality Foods,
LLC, a business unit of Utz Brands,
Inc., has entered into an agreement with
Conagra Brands, Inc., Chicago, to acquire
certain assets of H.K. Anderson, a brand
of peanut butter-filled pretzels. The purchase price is less than $10 million, according to the company.
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

EDIBLE BAKESHOP

Edible, fresh fruit arrangement
franchisor, into baked foods

property specific to the H.K. Anderson
brand and does not include employees,
facilities or equipment.
"The approximate $100 million filled
segment of pretzels is ripe for innovation and growth," said Dylan Lissette,
chief executive officer of Utz Brands, Inc.

facility is grown right here in Northwest
Missouri, Northeast Kansas, Iowa and
Nebraska," Mr. Kelly said. "We're appreciative of the city of St. Joseph, the
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce and
the state of Missouri for their support of
our expansion. As LifeLine continues to
grow, we are proud that we can continue
to grow our presence in the region."
Joining Mr. Kelly at the ceremony were
Michelle Clark, chief financial officer of
LifeLine, and Brad Lau, vice president of
economic development at the St. Joseph
Chamber of Commerce, as well as state
representatives Bill Falkner and Brenda
Shields, Matt Barry from Congressman
Sam Graves' office, Elizabeth Johnson from
Senator Josh Hawley's office, and Brandt
Shields from Senator Roy Blunt's office.
Additionally, St. Joseph Mayor Bill McMurray and presiding Buchanan County Commissioner Lee Sawyer were present.
"We are pleased to officially congratulate
the team and local contractors who completed the project today," Mr. Kelly said. MBN
"As we look to increase our share in the
rapidly expanding salty snack category
through new products and geographic
growth, this type of acquisition is tailor
made for the synergies and growth opportunity afforded by our platform."
Dollar sales of pretzels increased 10%
to $1.4 billion, based on data for the 52
weeks ended Sept. 6, 2020, an increase
of more than $120 million versus a year
ago, according to data from Information
Resources, Inc., Chicago. MBN
Milling & Baking News

October 6, 2020 / 13

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Milling & Baking News - October 6, 2020

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