Milling & Baking News - October 18, 2022 - 10

BAKE CRAFTERS FOOD
TUES | 10 18 202 2
Murry's expands in K-12
foodservice with acquisition
SAN FRANCISCO - Murry's Inc., a
portfolio company of San Francisco-based
private equity firm Encore Consumer
Capital, has acquired Bake Crafters Food
Co. Financial terms of the transaction
were not disclosed.
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in
McDonald, Tenn., Bake Crafters manufactures
and distributes breakfast and other
baked food products, primarily to the K-12
foodservice channel. The company's products
include pancake and waffle breakfast
sandwiches, low-sodium bread, break bars
and french toast bites. According to the
company, more than 420 million servings
of its whole grain products were used in
schools during the 2020-21 school year.
Murry's, which was acquired by Encore
in 2019, is based in Greenbelt, Md. The
company makes frozen french toast sticks
and bites that are sold into the private
label retail and foodservice channels.
Jeff Ahlers recently was brought on
board as chief executive officer of Murry's.
Prior to joining Murry's in June, he
was CEO of La Tortilla Factory in Santa
Rosa, Calif. He also spent six years as president
of ISB/Cottage Bakery at Ralcorp
Holdings, and earlier he was chief operating
officer of Cottage Bakery. He spent
many years as senior vice president of
perishables at Safeway.
" I am pleased to bring Jeff on board to
support the integration of Bake Crafters
and the continued growth of Murry's, "
said Ira Mendelson, chairman of Encore.
" Bake Crafters has been an important
partner of Murry's for over 15 years, and
August fire at Grain Craft flour
mill deemed 'accidental in nature'
PENDLETON, ORE. - The Oregon State
Fire Marshal has classified the fire that
destroyed the Grain Craft flour mill in
Pendleton on Aug. 9 as being " accidental
in nature " and having an " undetermined "
cause, according to the Pendleton Fire
Department's Facebook page.
No injuries were reported in the fire,
which occurred when grain storage bins
were filled with wheat, making the fire
more difficult to extinguish, fire officials
said. As of early October, the facility was
still smoldering, and the Pendleton Fire
Department said it was " aware of the
impact this fire has had on the community. "
" We are sorry we have not been able
to extinguish the smoldering, " the fire
department said.
No decision has been made regarding
10
MILLING & BAKING NEWS
plans for the Pendleton mill, Natalie Faulkner,
director of communications at Grain
Craft, told World Grain, a sister publication
of Milling & Baking News.
" We're still assessing everything right
now, " she said.
Pendleton is in eastern Oregon. According
to the 2022 Grain & Milling Annual
published by Sosland Publishing Co., the
mill has daily flour milling capacity of
6,000 cwts and storage capacity of 1.17
million bus of wheat.
Grain Craft, which operates 13 flour
mills in the United States, also has flour
mills in the region in Portland (8,700 cwts
of daily capacity); Blackfoot, Idaho (16,500
cwts); Ogden, Utah (16,400 cwts); and
Great Falls and Billings, Mont. (7,500 cwts
and 6,400 cwts, respectively).
I'm excited to see what we can accomplish
working together. "
Kate Wallman, managing director of
Encore Consumer Capital, added, " Bake
Crafters represents a highly strategic
acquisition for Murry's. We're excited to
have completed this transaction and look
forward to the next chapter of growth at
Murry's under Jeff's leadership. "
Encore Consumer Capital has raised
more than $600 million in equity capital
and invested in over 35 companies in the
consumer products sector. The private
equity firm's current and prior investments
include food and beverage manufacturers
and marketers (4505 Meats,
Aidells Sausage Co., Ancient Harvest,
Brownie Brittle, Full Sail Brewing, Lion
Beverages, Mesa Foods, Murry's, Navitas
Organics, Tender Belly, Thanasi Foods,
Van Law Foods), pet products companies
(Open Farm Pet, ThunderWorks, Zuke's)
and personal care/beauty companies
(Love Wellness, MyChelle Dermaceuticals,
Supergoop!, tarte), and food distribution
companies (Freshko Produce Services,
Pint Size Hawaii, Tourtellot). The
firm targets for investment companies
with between $10 million and $100 million
in annual revenues. MBN
The Pendleton mill for much of its
history was owned by Kerr-Pacific Corp.,
Portland, and predecessor companies
owned by the Kerr family. Kerr, Gifford &
Co., in 1943 acquired a flour mill in Pendleton,
known as the Walters Flouring Mills,
a facility dating back to the 1890s. The mill
was destroyed by fire in 1945. In the 1970s,
Kerr Grain Co. acquired Collins Flour
Mills in Pendleton, a mill built in 1919.
From 1937 until it was acquired by Kerr
Grain, the flour mill was operated by General
Foods Corp. In 2001, the Pendleton
mill and two others owned by Kerr-Pacific
became part of a joint venture with Milner
Milling. The entire business was renamed
Grain Craft in 2014 following the acquisition
of Cereal Food Processors. In late
June of this year, Grain Craft announced
it would be acquired by Redwood Capital
Investments, LLC.
Grain Craft will continue to operate as
an independent business following the
transaction, Grain Craft said. MBN
bakingbusiness.com
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - October 18, 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - October 18, 2022
