LOS ANGELES — Irresistible Foods Group (IFG) has acquired a majority stake in brownie maker The Killer Brownie Co. Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed. In announcing the arrangement on Aug. 2, Los Angeles-based IFG said it “formed a strategic partnership” with Killer Brownie. But IFG later confirmed it has taken an ownership interest in the Miamisburg, Ohio-based brownie company.

“This was a majority investment by IFG and an opportunity for two family businesses to come together in true partnership to support the future growth of Killer Brownie,” said Sam Hurster, senior director of strategy and new ventures at IFG.

The Killer Brownie Co. was launched in 1988 by Norman Mayne, founder of Dorothy Lane Market, a Dayton, Ohio-based gourmet grocery retailer with three stores in Ohio. Killer Brownies initially were sold in only Dorothy Lane stores but later branched out to wholesale sales to other grocery stores as well as online. Dorothy Lane bills its website as the official Killer Brownie online store, as well as the official brownie of the Cincinnati Bengals pro football team.

“It's not in our nature to take on partners, so in order for us to do so, it would have to be with a very special, family-owned business who would share the same values that we have at Killer Brownie and Dorothy Lane Market,” Mayne commented about the partnership. “We found such a family, the Taira family (owner of IFG), and their president, John Linehan. For us, the future is bright to have partners who are such incredible folks.”

Killer Brownie CEO Chimene Mayne Ross added, “The IFG team and the Taira family have been amazing to work with. Like us, they prioritize people and culture first. The future is going to be ‘Killer.’"

IFG described Killer Brownie as the “No. 1-selling gourmet brownie company.” Killer Brownie’s product line includes brownies, brookies and bites in a range of flavors. Full-size brownies and brookies are sold individually wrapped, while the bites come in 8- and 16-count containers. Dorothy Lane’s Killer Brownie online store also sells the treats in gift tins and boxes and in party trays.

“This is a partnership between two wonderful families that share similar values and long records of being great employers and members of their communities,” IFG’s Linehan said. “They are also close friends who have been talking about and planning this partnership for several years. We could not be more excited about our future together.”

In May, Killer Brownie announced the addition of a 10,500-square-foot facility near its 27,000-square-foot main plant in Miamisburg.