Dive Brief:
- ConAgra Foods, Inc. is acquiring Blake’s All Natural Foods, one of the fastest-rising health-based frozen foods producers in the country. The companies did not disclose financial terms.
- ConAgra CEO Sean Connolly said in a statement, "Blake's is a great addition to our existing frozen meals business and provides more choices to a growing group of people buying natural and organic foods."
- Chris Licata, Blake's president and CEO, said in a press release that the partnership with ConAgra will enable Blake's to capitalize on its rapid growth over the past several years. The company strives to meet the growing demand for natural and organic foods, and ConAgra will support Blake's in achieving that goal.
Dive Insight:
In addition to capitalizing on the organic and all-natural health foods movement, ConAgra is also pursuing the frozen foods market, which, according to IRI data, increased by more than 33% from 2011 to 2015. ConAgra currently owns several frozen food brands, including Healthy Choice, Banquet, Kid Cuisine, and P.F. Chang's. But owning Blake's means tapping into one of the fastest-growing brands in the organic and all-natural frozen foods category, according to ConAgra.
The acquisition is also another example of a major food company purchasing or producing a smaller health food brand, such as General Mills' acquisition of Annie's Inc.