Conagra Brands Completes Divestiture Of Direct-Store-Delivery Model Snacks Business To Utz Quality Foods, LLC

Monday, Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) announced that it has completed the divestiture of the portion of its snacks business that operates under a Direct-Store-Delivery (DSD) model to Utz Quality Foods, LLC.

The brands included in the sale are Tim's® Cascade Snacks, Hawaiian® Snacks, Erin's®, El Restaurante®, Snyder® of Berlin, Pop-N-Thin® and Husman's®.

Conagra Brands acquired the DSD snacks business in October 2018 as part of its acquisition of Pinnacle Foods.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Conagra Foods first announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Direct Store Delivery (DSD) snacks business to Utz Quality Foods on September 11, 2019:

Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer of Conagra Brands:

“We continue to reshape our portfolio and focus our resources on priorities that support Conagra's business strategy and create value for shareholders.”

“While Conagra has a large and growing snacks business, we do not currently operate with a DSD model.”

“We believe this business will have more opportunity for growth under Utz, an established DSD operator.”

Dylan Lissette, chief executive officer of Utz:

“We are excited about the opportunity to add these important brands and capabilities to our portfolio.”

“These brands bring a strong consumer following and unique craft heritage. Their distribution and manufacturing capabilities, along with their customer relationships, enhance our ability to further grow our brand portfolio further west.”

Snacking will continue to be a critical part of Conagra's overall growth strategy.

Following the transaction, Conagra Brands has a $2 billion snacking portfolio (according to IRI POS, MULO+C, L52 week ending September 22, 2019), with both large, iconic brands and fast-growing, emerging brands across meat snacks, seeds, popcorn, sweet treat and specialty categories.