Finger Foods, Pizza and Snacks

Pizza-hungry Schwan’s Buys Better Baked and Drayton Foods

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Bloomington, Minnesota-headquartered Schwan’s Company has acquired Better Baked Foods and Drayton Foods from NE Foods Inc. for an undisclosed price. The deal represents the second major transaction in as many months for Schwan’s, which in June bought Sidney, Ohio-based MaMa Rosa’s Pizza.

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“We are focused on adding to our capabilities and growing our share of the US pizza market, as the passion for pizza among American consumers continues to evolve and grow in exciting ways,” said Schwan’s CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios. “We are extremely happy to add Better Baked Foods and Drayton Foods to our family of businesses, as both are highly regarded for providing quality foods to their retail, foodservice and home-delivery customers nationwide. Their addition to our portfolio will deepen our collaborations with strategic foodservice and retail customers on innovating and growing the pizza category and meeting consumer demand.”

Better Baked Foods logoBetter Baked Foods, which has been a co-packer for Schwan’s for over 35 years, is based in North East, Pennsylvania. It produces traditional pizza, french bread pizza and sandwich items for private label customers and foodservice venues, and offers brands such as Better Baked Classics, Daybreak Classics, Papa Presto, Zap-A-Snack and Odyssey in retail food stores. The business, which includes Better Baked Foods of Erie, LLC, operates production facilities in North East and Erie, Pennsylvania, as well as in Westfield, New York.

Drayton Foods logoDrayton Foods, headquartered at its production facility in Fargo, North Dakota, makes pizza crusts, dough balls, breadsticks and dinner rolls for industrial customers, and offers its proprietary Two Sicily’s brand in retail stores.

Diversified frozen food producer Schwan’s major retail brands in the pizza category are Red Baron, Freschetta and Tony’s. Its subsidiaries are also leading providers of pizza to schools, convenience stores, colleges and universities.