Noble Foods Nutrition acquires co-packing activities of Betty Lou’s

Noble Foods Nutrition, a Canadian nutrition and energy bar contract manufacturer, has acquired the co-packing activities of US-based confectionery bar manufacturer Betty Lou’s for an undisclosed price.

The Canadian firm said that the combination of its 20 years of bar manufacturing expertise and Betty Lou’s 42 years of experience will establish its presence as a top medium-sized bar manufacturer in North America.

Lee Shulkin – President of Noble Foods said: “We couldn’t have found a better complement to our base of customers and our present employees. Merging the two companies’ business philosophies and trajectories will significantly improve both enterprises and make the whole so much greater than the sum of its parts.”

Noble Foods Nutrition said that the co-packing activities will continue as usual at the McMinnville facility, and all products under the Betty Lou’s range of brands will be manufactured at a new plant in McMinnville under the continued ownership of the US firm’s founder – Betty Lou Carrier.

Betty Lou Carrier said: “After 42 years, I have decided to sell the co-packing activities of Betty Lou’s to Noble Foods and focus our efforts on our private Betty Lou’s brand. Noble Foods has been doing co-packing bars for more than 20 years with a high level of organization, professionalism, and dedication to bar manufacturing.

“It gave me great comfort knowing that they have the same philosophy about customer service and quality as we do. Our Betty Lou’s employees are like family and I’m happy to know that those joining the Noble Foods team will be taken care of, as that is very important to me.”

The transaction is the first for Noble Foods Nutrition following the entry of Canadian private equity firm Novacap as its stakeholder in 2018. Novacap acquired the stake to help Noble Foods Nutrition acquire other bar contract manufacturers in North America.

For Betty Lou’s, the financial advisor for the deal was Turning Point Consulting, while Perkins Coie was the legal advisor. On the other hand, the legal advisor for Noble Foods Nutrition was Fasken Martineau DuMoulin.