CHASKA, MINN. — Global food ingredient and plant/animal nutrition company QualiTech has acquired wholesale baker Ellison Bakery from private investment firm Tilia Holdings.

Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Ellison Bakery formulates, develops and makes cookies, snack bars, crunches, toppings and inclusion ingredients for the retail, foodservice and private label markets. Financial terms of acquisition, announced Aug. 21 by Chaska, Minn.-based QualiTech, weren’t disclosed.

QualiTech cited Ellison Bakery’s wide range of products and solutions — including mix-ins, frozen novelty components and snack inclusions — and its “diverse mix of blue-chip customers and established and emerging brands” as core drivers of the transaction. The deal also marks QualiTech’s first key acquisition since its June 2023 purchase by New York-based private equity firm MidOcean Partners, which sought to expand the company’s capabilities with complementary products and ingredient solutions.

“Bringing Ellison into the QualiTech family will be beneficial for both companies as well as our customers,” said Rick Pedersen, who became chief executive officer of QualiTech in January. “Both organizations have rich legacies of bespoke R&D, differentiated customer service and superior product quality. As a combined platform, we will be able to scale services, build additional product capabilities and unlock access to a larger addressable market. The acquisition accelerates QualiTech’s efforts to lead the industry in providing specialty ingredients that enhance the sensory components of consumers’ favorite foods and positions our business for long-term success.”

Founded in 1945, Ellison Bakery produces mini, soft, thin and crispy, and ice cream cookies; breakfast, snack and indulgent bars; inclusions for trail mixes, yogurt, pies, cakes and other products; and crunches for pie crusts, donut toppings and ice cream coatings. The bakery was acquired from Blackford Capital in August 2020 by Chicago-based Tilia Holdings, which focuses on investments in business-to-business services for the food supply chain. Blackford initially invested in Ellison Bakery in April 2017.

“We are excited to partner with QualiTech and to leverage MidOcean’s resources and expertise in the food business to drive success for the combined company,” said Stephanie Chattillion, CEO of Ellison Bakery. “QualiTech’s approach to customer service uniquely aligns with our own culture and commitment to delivering high-quality products to our customers. We look forward to expanding the breadth of products that we can offer and creating a leading, customized food inclusion and ingredients platform.”

QualiTech said MidOcean had identified Ellison Bakery as a “priority add-on acquisition target” early in the underwriting process for the investment firm’s deal to acquire QualiTech, which transferred ownership of the then 56-year-old company from the Ploen family to MidOcean.

“The transformational combination of these two businesses, the first major acquisition following our investment in QualiTech, reinforces QualiTech’s position as a differentiated ingredients platform and provides an entry into compelling new product applications and end markets,” Steven Loeffler, managing director at MidOcean Partners, said of the Ellison Bakery addition. “We look forward to working with Rick, Stephanie and their teams as we continue identifying opportunities to enhance the platform’s capabilities through organic value creation initiatives and strategic M&A.”