B&G Adds to Frozen Vegetable Portfolio
Food manufacturer B&G Foods has acquired the frozen vegetable operations of Growers Express LLC, which produces frozen products such as Green Giant Riced Veggies and Green Giant Veggie Spirals. The move widens B&G’s portfolio of frozen foods and also gives the company a master license agreement for certain Green Giant fresh vegetable products.
As part of the agreement, about 155 employees will move over to B&G Foods, which also took over Growers Express’ sublease for part of a manufacturing facility in Yuma, Ariz., and a lease for a warehouse site in San Luis, Ariz. B&G owns more than 50 brands across several grocery categories, including Green Giant, as well as Back to Nature, B&G, B&M, Bear Creek, Cream of Wheat, Crisco, Dash, Las Palmas, Le Sueur, Mama Mary’s, Maple Grove Farms, New York Style, Ortega, Polaner, Spice Islands, and Victoria.
“By increasing the variety and volume of Green Giant frozen vegetable products produced at internal manufacturing facilities, we expect to reduce inefficiencies, reduce costs and reduce supply chain risk for certain Green Giant frozen products. We also believe that this acquisition will enhance our innovation efforts for the Green Giant brand and improve our speed to market for new innovation,” explained Casey Keller, president and CEO of Parsippany, N.J.-based B&G adding, “Growers Express has been an important partner of B&G Foods for a number of years and we thank them for their partnership.”
Growers Express CEO Mark Dendle and COO Kirk Wagner expressed their gratitude to employees who sustained and helped expand the business over the years. “We are extremely thankful for all the team members who developed one of the largest riced and spiralized frozen vegetable production facilities globally. Our blue-ribbon team has collaborated with B&G Foods on product innovation and quality since 2016, benefiting from the strategic position of our facilities and delivering to the highest quality and food safety standards,” the executives noted in a joint statement.
Growers Express was founded in 1987 in Monterey, Calif., and developed a host of innovative products, including Cauliflower Crumbles and spiralized vegetable noodles. For years, Growers Express was the primary licensed partner of Green Giant Fresh, the fresh produce arm of the Green Giant brand.
