Milling & Baking News - December 28, 2021 - 14

TUES | 12 28 202 1
Private equity firm e2p invests
in cereal and granola co-packer
CHICAGO - Entrepreneurial Equity Partners
(e2p), a Chicago-based private equity
firm focused on the food and consumer
packaged goods industries, announced
it has invested in San Dimas, Calif.-based
Organic Milling Inc. Financial terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1960, Organic Milling is a
contract manufacturer of " better-for-you "
cereal, granola, snacks and ingredients.
The company's focus is on organic, nonGMO
and gluten-free products, with its
primary offerings including a variety of
granolas and extruded items such as rice
crisps, high-fiber twigs, flakes and coated
puffs. Organic Milling operates three
facilities in San Dimas, including an SQF
Level 3-certified manufacturing facility.
" Through a partnership-based approach,
Organic Milling offers customers a unique
value proposition by providing the scale
and efficiency required to compete in the
marketplace, including the flexibility and
customization desired to create a unique
and differentiated product, " said Mark
Burgett, managing partner at e2p. " We are
thrilled to be working with the entire team
at Organic Milling and look forward to
driving further growth through customer
and geographical expansion and additional
product offerings. "
Wolfgang Buehler, chief executive officer
of Organic Milling, added, " This partnership
with e2p is exciting for Organic
Milling. The company has continued to
grow with our focus on organic, non-GMO
and gluten-free products. With customer
demand for healthy and convenient food
options rapidly increasing, Organic Milling
is poised to reach new levels of growth. "
e2p earlier this year closed its inaugural
fund, Entrepreneurial Equity Partners
I (e2p I or Fund I), with $423 million
in aggregate capital commitments. The
e2p team is led by managing partners Mr.
Burgett and CJ Fraleigh. Mr. Burgett has
more than 20 years of private equity and
finance experience. Prior to co-founding
e2p he was a managing director at Chicago-based
private equity firm Wind Point
Partners, where he led investments in
food and consumer products for 14 years.
Prior to Wind Point, he had progressively
senior roles in the investment banking
New Bartlett sustainability
project focuses on Kansas wheat
KANSAS CITY - Bartlett, a Savage Co.,
has launched a sustainability project to
reduce environmental impacts of Kansas
wheat production in partnership with
Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable
Agriculture.
The Bartlett Kansas Hard Red
Winter Wheat Project aims to
drive innovation in farming
practices that will reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and improve
soil conservation. Bartlett will
work with Kansas wheat producers
and other stakeholders
to help establish a baseline of
current farming practices and
environmental impacts. Then
14
MILLING & BAKING NEWS
strategies will be implemented to
improve sustainability. Results will be
benchmarked against traditional farming
practices and project goals with support
from Field to Market's Continuous
groups at Morgan Stanley and Robert
W. Baird. Mr. Fraleigh has more than 25
years of operating experience, including
prior roles as chairman and chief executive
officer of Shearer's Foods, CEO of Sara
Lee North America and vice president of
colas at PepsiCo, Inc.
Mr. Burgett and Mr. Fraleigh are joined
on the leadership team by Richard G.
Scalise, a partner. Mr. Scalise's career
includes prior roles as chairman and CEO
of Hearthside Food Solutions, president
of Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products, and
president and chief operating officer of
Conagra's Refrigerated Foods Division.
Mr. Burgett, Mr. Fraleigh and Mr. Scalise
previously partnered together on several
successful private equity investments.
In addition to Organic Milling, Fund I
has invested in five platform investments
to date, including Charcuterie Artisans (a
producer of charcuterie and meats), Salm
Partners (the largest US manufacturer of
fully cooked sausages utilizing a differentiated,
co-extrusion, cook-in-package
manufacturing process), Sara Lee Frozen
Bakery (a provider of frozen baked
foods), World Food Holdings (a provider
of authentic Mediterranean foods), and Ya
Ya Foods (one of North America's largest
co-packers of aseptic food and beverage
products). MBN
Improvement Accelerator.
" We're excited to work with our customers
and partners to improve on-farm
environmental outcomes while increasing
overall sustainability across the
milling and baking supply chains, " said
Bob Knief, president of Kansas City-based
Bartlett. " We have a strong commitment
to continuous improvement and look forward
to engaging and supporting Kansas
wheat producers in measuring
and optimizing their sustainability
performance. "
Field to Market is a group of
grower organizations; food, beverage,
apparel, restaurant and retail
companies; conservation groups;
universities; and public sector
partners that seeks to define, measure
and advance the sustainability
of food, fiber and fuel production
in the United States. MBN
bakingbusiness.com
BARTLETT
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - December 28, 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - December 28, 2021
