Dive Brief:
- Annie's Inc. has reached an agreement with Safeway Inc. to purchase a bakery plant in Joplin, Mo., for $6 million.
- A finalized deal is expected to close in April 2014.
- Annie's, which already sees more than half of its cookies and crackers manufactured at the plant, intends to establish its manufacturing headquarters in Joplin, Shane Solberg, the plant's manager told The Joplin Globe.
Dive Insight:
Annie's has been making some smart moves with its brand, snacks and pasta since it went public in 2012. The plant purchase in this case seems like a natural decision, considering how much of its product is already being manufactured there. Meanwhile, the company's CEO John Foracker believes that the acquisition could lead to tripled production capacity in the future. That's a lot of potential growth if these plans work out.