WARSAW, IND. – Little Crow Foods, which is exiting the food business, sold certain assets to MOM Brands and the Glister-Mary Lee Corp. MOM Brands will acquire the cereal brand Coco Wheats while Gilster-Mary Lee will acquire the FastShake Pancake Mixes, Fryin’ Magic and Baking Miracle Seasoned Coating Mixes, and the Miracle Maize Corn Bread and Muffin Mixes brands. Gilster-Mary Lee also will acquire all the equipment in Little Crow Foods’ Warsaw facility.
The transactions will be finalized on June 29. Little Crow Foods said it will conduct business as usual until the transactions are finalized. Terms were not announced for either transaction.
For MOM Brands, Minneapolis, the acquisition of the Coco Wheats brand extends the company’s existing hot cereal brands, which include Malt-O-Meal, Better Oats, Mom’s Best Naturals Old Fashioned Oats, Farina Mills Farina, and I Love Oats.
“Coco Wheats is a beloved breakfast cereal enjoyed by millions of families,” said Paul Norton, senior vice-president of marketing and business planning. “It marks another strong addition to our hot cereal offerings and our growing house of brands.”
The Gilster-Mary Lee Corp., a private label food manufacturer in Chester, Ill., will acquire the Little Crow Foods brand trademarks, product formulas and inventories. The company said it will continue to market the brands under their established brand names and will continue to offer the contract packing services provided by Little Crow Foods to third-party food producers.
“We look forward to continuing to produce and distribute these popular brands,” said Don Welge, chief executive officer of Gilster-Mary Lee. “They are valuable additions to our business.”