Queen City Candy expanded into a "state-of-the-art production facility" in 2015.
Highlander Partners, the US investment firm that acquired Huhtamaki’s confectionery portfolio two months ago, has continued its push in the confectionery category with the acquisition of an Indiana-based candy business.
The Texas-based private equity group will buy Queen City Candy, which makes a range of gummy products from its facility in Greenville, in southern Indiana.
It continues Highlander’s charge on the US confectionery market, having recently acquired a portfolio of ten iconic confectionery brands – including Jolly Rancher and Milk Duds – from European packaging group Huhtamaki. As well as the Huhtamaki deal, Highlander has in the past two years acquired Gimbal’s, a manufacturer of gourmet jelly beans and gummy vitamins; as well as Hillside Candy, which produces organic, sugar-free and nutraceutical confections.
Functional confectionery continues to be a leading vehicle for the pharma and nutrition industries, and this was evident at this year’s Vitafoods Europe in Geneva. In particular, Rousselot exhibited a gummy sweet format to support functional joint claims from its Peptan brand, while Diana Food’s Stephanie Pretesacque told FoodBev that consumers were looking for more ‘food-like formats’.
Queen City Candy’s a newly installed high-speed mogul and robust drying capabilities, as well as storage capacity amounting to 5 million pounds of candy, will help the Dallas-based private equity firm to better target that niche through products that appeal in the mainstream.
Jeff L Hull, president and managing partner of Highlander Partners, said: “We are excited about our acquisition of Queen City Candy. We believe the opportunity in the gummy confection and vitamin space will continue to grow at a significant rate. Queen City Candy offers outstanding manufacturing capabilities, with its cutting-edge manufacturing equipment and unique production capabilities. We believe that with Highlander’s resources and in collaboration with Bettera Brands, another Highlander portfolio company, Queen City Candy will be able to expand its product offerings and enter new markets, further accelerating the company’s growth.
“Queen City Candy’s capabilities extend beyond regular confection products, and we believe that we can capitalise on the industry trends and the uniqueness of the company’s assets while pursuing gummy vitamin and other confection and wellness strategies over the next few years.”
Alex Guiva, partner at Highlander Partners, continued: “We have been very active; this is Highlander’s fourth investment in the confection space in the last two years and this is our third food deal this year. Having closed more than twenty transactions in the food space, we remain fully committed to the food and beverage categories, both finished consumer products and ingredients, and we continue seeking high-quality food businesses that have a strong market position, differentiated offerings and compelling growth opportunities.”
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