■ Tyson bought AdvancePierre Foods for atotal of $4.2 billion. Oaktree Capital owned42% of the sandwich maker.
■ Seneca Foods bought the remaining 50%of Truitt Bros. The company makes shelfstable meals in trays and pouches.
■ Post Holdings is buying cereal makerWeetabix for $1.8 billion. Post has made10 acquisitions in a little over three years.
■ Dean Foods invested in Good Karma Foods.They specialize in beverages and yogurtmade from flaxseed. We assume somebodythinks that sounds appetizing.
■ Smucker is buying the Wesson Oil brandfrom Conagra. The price is $285 million.
■ Pernod Ricard is buying a majority stake inDel Maguey, a Mexican maker of artisanalmezcal. Loyal readers know that is a cousinof tequila, distilled from agave plants.
■ Speaking of tequila, if this acting thingdoes not work out George Clooney can bea tequila magnate. Diageo bought his4-year-old Casamigos company for morethan $700 million.
■ Nestlé bought a minority stake in Freshly,an early stage provider of home-deliveredhealthy meals via subscription.
■ Carl Buddig, a family-owned sandwichmeat company, is buying Rupari FoodServices out of Chapter 11. They arepaying $26 million for the rib company.
■ Constellation Brands wants to buy Brown-Forman, but so far they have been spurned.B-F is controlled by 40 Brown familymembers, which complicates things. A lot.
■ Swander Pace Capital sold Kicking HorseCoffee to Lavazza. The deal valued thecompany at $160 million.
■ Encore Consumer sold Thanasi Foods toConagra. The company makes the Duke’sand BIGS snack brands.
■ EOS Partners sold Country Fresh, a producerof fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, to KainosCapital.
■ Wedbush Capital sold Passport FoodGroup to Swander Pace Capital. They makeinternationally-flavored foods for food-service and retail customers.
■ Roark Capital sold Atkins Nutritionals to aSPAC affiliated with Jim Kilts. The newentity will be a publicly-traded companycalled Simply Good Foods.
■ TSG Consumer sold Dogswell to WhitebridgePet Brands. That company is owned byFrontenac, a PE firm in Chicago.
■ MidOcean is selling Agilex Fragrances toFirmenich, a big fragrance and flavors company.
2017
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Other private equity firms started the circleof life anew.
■ MidOcean Partners bought Scivation, asports nutrition company, to combine itwith their Nutrabolt portfolio company.
■ Palladium Equity Partners invested in Kar NutProducts. The snack maker owns the Kar’sand Second Nature brands.
■ L Catterton invested in I and Love and You, thegrammatically challenged but growing makerof Naked Essentials and Nude Food pet food.
■ Wind Point Partners bought Vee Pak, acontract manufacturer of beauty andpersonal care products.
■ Kohlberg & Company is buying the $330million winter sports business from NewellBrands. The K2 and Volkl ski brands camewith the Jarden acquisition last year.
■ HGGC is taking Nutraceutical private for$446 million, a 49% premium per share.They make branded products sold throughhealth food stores.
■ CITIC Capital is buying the Ansell condombusiness from Humanwell, a Chinese firm.The brands include SKYN and Lifestyles.
■ Insignia Capital bought Tillamook CountrySmoker. They make branded meat snacks.
■ CVC Capital Partners is buying PDC Brands,a maker of beauty and personal care brandssuch as Cantu, Dr Teal’s, and Eylure. Theseller is Yellow Wood Partners.
■ Sovos Brands, which is owned by AdventInternational, is buying pasta sauce makerRao’s Specialty Foods. It is their secondsignificant acquisition in six months.
■ CAVU Venture Partners led Series B fundingof $19 million for Bulletproof 360. They makeBulletproof coffee and other performance-oriented foods.
■ TSG Consumer bought 22% of Brewdog,a Scottish craft brewer, for $266 million.Until now, the company has relied oncrowdfunding for capital.
■ Castanea reportedly invested in Yasso. Theymake frozen Greek yogurt bars and treats.
■ Insight Equity is buying a $210 millionprivate label soup and infant food businessfrom TreeHouse Foods. It will be calledRiverbend Foods.
■ KPS Capital is paying $425 million forTaylorMade, Adams Golf, and Ashworth.Golf is a very difficult business, so Adidaswants to focus on footwear and apparel.
■ CircleUp enabled fundraising by BlackMedicine cold brew coffee, Bright Greenssmoothie shakers, Nutrafol hair loss supple-ments, Grainful oat-based entrees, andSustain Natural for, uh, sexual health.
■ Wynnchurch Capital invested in StampedeMeat. They make portioned and cookedmeat products.
You may have seen the “For Sale” signs:
■ The feds say Danone must sell StonyfieldFarms as a condition of their $12.5 billionWhiteWave acquisition. They are worriedabout antitrust issues in organic milk.
■ Unilever wants to sell their margarinebrands – sorry, we mean “spreads” – likeCountry Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s NotButter. On a per capita basis, butter hasbeaten margarine since 2005.
■ Tyson wants to sell their non-protein brandsto focus on, well, protein. They will divestSara Lee frozen baked goods, Van’s frozenwaffles, and Kettle sauces and side dishes.
■ General Electric wants to sell their lightbulb business, which of course was theirvery first product. They will be completelyout of consumer businesses.
■ Nestlé wants to sell their US candy busi-ness, which includes Butterfinger, NestleCrunch, Gobstoppers, and Nerds. Meanwhile,a hedge fund will push Nestlé to changeafter buying 40 million shares.
■ If we were inclined to gossip, we mightmention the rumor that Conagra wants tobuy Pinnacle Foods.
■ Ditto about the rumor that Kraft Heinzwants to buy Colgate-Palmolive. You mayremember their spurned bid for Unilever.
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■ JBS, the meat giant in Brazil, is caught upin that country’s corruption scandal. Theirholding company agreed to pay a $3 billionfine over 25 years for bribing thousandsof politicians.
■ A judge ruled against Monsanto, sayingCalifornia can put a cancer warning onRoundup weedkiller. The supposedlyimpartial agency sounding the glysophatealarm has investigated nearly 1,000 things… and found only one to be noncarcinogenic.
■ Mars sued a Wisconsin woman who sellsCocoVaa chocolates. They worry the name istoo close to CocoaVia heart healthy chocolates.
■ Bumble Bee Foods agreed to pay a $25million fine after the DOJ investigatedprice-fixing concerns in tuna.
■ A St. Louis jury ruled against J&J in a suitclaiming a woman got cancer because of thetalc in baby powder. They awarded $110million, which could be reduced on appeal.
■ Chobani was victimized when a right-wingradio show host made inflammatory chargeson social media. He apologized for histweets and videos after they sued him.
■ A brewer in the Florida Keys changed thename of Hogfish Amber beer after DogfishHead complained. At least they settled likenormal people, without a lawsuit.
■ New guidelines from the BrewersAssociation discourage giving potentiallyoffensive names to craft beers. Ideally thiswould not be necessary, but some brewers –and most beer drinkers – are sophomoric.
Courtrooms andBureaucracy
We refuse to view “honestlawyer” as an oxymoron
Expanding andContracting
■ Coca-Cola will cut 1,200 jobs to offsetdeclining soft drink demand. That equatesto 1 out of 5 people at the corporate level.
■ The latest unemployment rate is downto 4.3%, a 16-year low. Of course, at thepersonal level it is either 100% or 0%.
People News
Time to update your scorecards.
CEOs
■ Patrice Louvet joined Ralph Lauren asCEO. He was the group president of globalbeauty at P&G.
■ Mark Rodriguez joined Beechnut Nutritionas CEO. He was at Hickory Farms, Atkins,Acirca, and Danone.
■ Ralph Denisco joinedMy/Mo Ice Cream asCEO. His background includes ColumbusFoods, World Kitchen, Rexall Sundown, andNestlé.
■ Chris Hickey joined D’s Naturals as CEO.The early stage natural foods companymakes No Cow Bar and Fluffbutter.
■ Rich Krause joined Confluence Outdoor, acanoe and kayak maker, as CEO. His CPGbackground includes NECCO, Elan Nutrition,ConAgra, Fiskars, and P&G.
■ Scott Almquist is now the CEO of Vee Pak,a contract packer in HABA categories. Hisbackground includes Sun Products, Evenflo,and P&G.
■ Brian Driscoll is now CEO of Snyder’s-Lance. He was previously the CEO ofDiamond Foods and Hostess.
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People News
Time to update your scorecards.
CEOs continued
■ Walt Freese is now CEO of Teton WatersRanch, a specialist in grass-fed beef. Hisbackground includes Hain Celestial, Ben &Jerry’s, and Stonyfield Farm.
■ Jim Greco joined True Drinks, the maker ofAquaBall flavored water for kids, as CEO.His background is mostly in restaurants,including Newk’s and Sbarro.
■ Mike Senackerib co-founded a natural foodcompany called Farm & Oven. He was atCampbell Soup, Hertz, Nabisco, and Kraft.
A couple of moves failed to utilize ahighly-skilled executive recruiter.Or our competitors:
■ General Mills promoted Jeff Harmeningfrom COO to CEO. He succeeds KenPowell, who will remain as chairman.
■ Ferrero, the maker of Tic Tacs and Nutella,promoted Lapo Civiletti to CEO. He will betheir first non-family leader in two decades.
■ L’Oreal named Nicolas Hieronimus as deputyCEO. He adds the CPG division, so nowhe oversees all four global businesses.
Presidents and GMs
■ Miguel Fernandez is joining Avon as globalpresident. He was at Herbalife, and he start-ed at P&G.
Other moves failed to support the vital head-hunter sector of our economy:
■ Coca-Cola named Christina Ruggiero to runtheir bottling company in India. She will bethe first woman in that position, movingfrom an Atlanta-based procurement role.
■ Pinnacle Foods namedMark Schiller as chiefcommercial officer, adding several functionsto his role overseeing grocery and frozen.Meanwhile, Mike Barkley was named presidentof the Boulder business, which used to beBoulder Brands.
■ P&G promoted Alex Keith to president oftheir global beauty business. She is beingsucceeded by Markus Strobel as president ofskin and personal care.
Sales and Marketing
■ Ivan Pollard is joining General Mills as globalCMO. He was at Coca-Cola after starting inthe agency world.
■ Morgan Flatley joined McDonald’s asCMO for the US. She was at PepsiCo foryears, mostly on Gatorade.
■ Mike Illum is joining Kettle Cuisine,the gourmet soup maker, as SVP of sales.He was at Keurig Green Mountain, CampbellSoup, Elmer’s, and Kraft.
■ Eddie Young joined Freshpet as SVP of salesin the grocery and mass channels. He was atDean Foods, Sunny Delight, Nestlé, and Coke.
■ Dana Anderson joined MediaLink, anadvisory firm, as CMO. We care becauseshe was in the same role at Mondelez.
■ Nathalie Durán joined Coty to run luxuryperfume marketing, coming from L’Oreal.Meanwhile, Sean Foster joined to run globale-commerce, coming from Crowdtap, Avon,and Gilt.
Yada yada yada about promotions from within:
■ Hostess promoted Andy Jacobs to chiefcommercial officer. He was the company’schief customer officer.
Board of Directors
■ Amy Chang joined P&G’s board. She is theCEO of Accompany, a tech company, andwas at Google previously.
■ Sabine Chalmers joined Coty’s board as theirfirst female director. She is the chief legalofficer at A-B InBev.
■ Michele Kessler joined the board ofMy/Mo Mochi Ice Cream. She is the CEOof thinkThin.
■ Carter Cast joined Kellogg’s board. He wasin ecommerce at Walmart.com, Hayneedle,and eBay … after starting at Frito-Lay.
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People News
Continued.
Other Functions
■ Chris Peterson joined Revlon to lead supplychain, finance and IT. He was at RalphLauren and P&G.
■ Lynanne Kunkel joined Vail Resorts as thehead of HR. In addition to being envious,we care because of her 20+ years at P&G.
■ Barry Calpino joined Conagra as VP ofinnovation. He was at Mondelez, Kraft,Wrigley, and SCJ.
■ Javier Polit joined P&G as CIO, comingfrom Coca-Cola. It is a big deal, since Proctergenerally promotes only from within.
■ Craig Simon joined Pinnacle Foods to leadproject management efforts. He was atMondelez, Cadbury, and Nabisco/Kraft.
■ Sandeep Dadlani is joining Mars as chiefdigital officer, overseeing IT and technology.Meanwhile, George Corbin will join as chiefdigital demand officer, responsible for e-commerce and digital marketing.
■ Scott Spradley is joining Tyson as chief tech-nology officer. He was at Hewlett Packard.
■ Lucien Alziari joined Prudential as chief HRofficer. He was at Maersk, Avon, and PepsiCo.
■ Malaika Myers is joining Hyatt as chiefHR officer. She was at Jarden, with earlierwork that included Diageo and PepsiCo.
Enough with the internal moves already:
■ Central Garden & Pet promoted Niko Lahanasto CFO. He has been at the company forover 10 years.
■ Conagra promotedMindy Simon to CIO.She has been at the company for 17 years.
■ Hain Celestial promoted James Langrock toCFO. He joined in 2015 as treasurer.
■ Campbell Soup promoted Bob Furbee(supply chain), Jim Sterbenz (sales), andEmily Waldorf (strategy) to the corporateleadership team.
Obituaries
■ Russell Hanlin died at 84. He was the CEOof Sunkist, the citrus co-op, for two decades.His son became CEO in 2011.
■ Dick Bolles died at 90. He sold 10 millioncopies of What Color is Your Parachute?, theclassic career guide. Believe it or not, it wasfirst written for unemployed ministers.
■ Stan Weston died at 84. He was theinventor (or co-inventor) of GI Joe, aconcept he brought to Hasbro in 1963. Itcreated the action figure category for boys.
■ Fred Kummerow died at 102. He was abiochemist who led the fight against transfats in processed foods, resulting in the banthat will take effect in 2018.
■ Jack O’Neill died at 94. His passion forsurfing in frigid water led to creating theO’Neill wetsuit brand for surfers and divers.
■ Jack Trout died at 82. He and Al Rieswrote the classic Positioning: The Battle forYour Mind. It advocated positioning as away to embed brands in consumers’ minds.
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■ P&G is getting serious about marketingdirectly to consumers with Gillette OnDemand. You can text or email an order, orsubscribe and every fourth shipment is free.
■ Diageo says they will increase marketingspending in the US, starting later this year.They say a new analytic tool enables themto know exactly what is working.
■ Mattel updated their lineup of Ken dolls.You can now choose skinny or chubby, withseven skin tones and hairstyles that includeman buns and corn rows. As a trivia point,his full name is Ken Carson and he is now 56.
Marketing & Strategy
Like they say, half ofmarketing is wasted.
■ Videogame revenue more than doubled theglobal sales of movie tickets last year, at $75billion. It’s hard to believe, especially forthose of us who are, ahem, older.
■ Now that is really specialized. There is arecruiting firm that focuses exclusively onfinding executives for the cannabis industry.It is not us, by the way.
■ A milestone was reached last year, whenbottled water exceeded soft drinks for the firsttime. If you’re counting, water was 39.3gallons per person and soda was 38.5.
■ It has been said there is no such thing asbad publicity. We now have a two-wordreply: United Airlines.
■ The leadership gurus at ghSmart havedone a study of what sets great CEOs apart. Intheir words: “The single most common mis-take among first-time CEOs was not gettingthe right team in place quickly enough.”Learn more in the current Harvard BusinessReview or at CEOgenome.com.
■ We have mentioned that PE firms have a lotof dry powder. The website Buyouts says$106 billion has been raised in 2017 so far,up 45% from last year. But deals completedare down 2%.
■ Once again we missed Free Cone Day atBen & Jerry’s. It was April 4.
■ We have a new nominee for the All-NameHall of Fame, career division. The baseball writerfor The Wall Street Journal is Jared Diamond.
■ We sawWonder Woman recently. It is theendearing story of a strong woman whodiscovers her powers in charming andunpretentious ways. And yes, it remindedus of Mrs. Biz Buzz.
