ROUGEMONT, QUE. — Canadian food and beverage company Lassonde Industries Inc. plans to acquire Summer Garden Food Manufacturing, a US-based specialty food manufacturer and distributor, for $235 million in cash.
Based in Boardman, Ohio, and operated by The Zidian Group, Summer Garden develops, manufactures and markets sauces and condiments, including tomato and cream-based pasta sauces, as well as barbecue sauces, dipping sauces and dressings under the Gia Russa, Little Italy in the Bronx and G Hughes (sugar-free barbecue sauce) brands. Its roughly 250 products are sold in more than 20,000 locations. Rougemon-based Lassonde noted that Summer Garden also serves as a co-packer for “well-known brands.”
“The acquisition of Summer Garden supports our ambition to become a more diversified North American food and beverage company,” said Nathalie Lassonde, chief executive officer and vice chair at Lassonde Industries. “Growing our specialty food activities is one of Lassonde’s key strategic objectives, and we are happy to have found the right company to help us achieve this objective. Our culture and values align with those of Summer Garden, which is also a multi-generational family business, with an entrepreneurial spirit and strong commitment to its employees, customers, consumers and the communities in which it operates. We are looking forward to closing the transaction and welcoming new talented employees to the Lassonde organization.”
Summer Garden was founded as the John Zidian Co., a family-owned food wholesaler in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1948 by the late John Zidian. The company branched into food manufacturing during the 1960s. In 2001, current president and CEO Thomas Zidian, son of the founder, incorporated the business as Zidian Manufacturing Corp. and changed the company’s name to Summer Garden Food Manufacturing in 2009. The company operates a 119,000-square-foot manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facility, with on-site research and development and quality assurance labs.
“This partnership ensures our legacy will continue to thrive,” Thomas Zidian said. “We are confident it will benefit our customers through enhanced products and will offer our employees new opportunities for development and advancement. We also believe the values which have guided the Zidian family business from the start will continue to be the guiding principles under the stewardship of Lassonde Industries Inc.”
For the 12 months through May 2024, Summer Garden generated sales of $148 million, Lassonde said. Under the acquisition agreement, Lassonde could pay The Zidian Group another $45 million over the next three years if Summer Garden hits certain financial targets and meets other conditions. The transaction, announced June 21, is expected to close within 30 to 45 days, pending regulatory clearance and other closing conditions.
Lassonde develops, produces and markets a wide range of private label and national brand products, from ready-to-drink beverages, fruit-based snacks and frozen juice concentrates to cranberry sauces and specialty foods, including pasta sauces, soups, fondue broths and sauces. The company also makes, imports and markets wines from several countries and manufactures and markets apple cider and cider-based drinks.
“We are excited with the expansion of our specialty food activities by adding a product portfolio, and capabilities that delivers an immediate path to growth at attractive and accretive margins,” said Vince Timpano, president and chief operating officer at Lassonde. “It marks another important step in the execution of our long-term strategy and moves us closer to achieving our objective of $3 billion in sales, with further margin improvement. Through brands that hold growth potential in their categories, Summer Garden expands our core offering in pasta sauces and extends our reach into new adjacencies. We are also integrating high-quality assets into our network, including additional retort capabilities, to position ourselves as the manufacturer of choice for our customers. Finally, with cash flow generation to support future expansion, we view this transaction as the creation of a new growth platform for Lassonde.”
