Acquisition strengthens Flagship’s offerings in the Hispanic and Southwestern categories.

DENVER, CO – Flagship Food Group, LLC (“Flagship” or the “Company”) announced today that it has acquired Yucatan Foods, LLC adding guacamole and dips to its growing portfolio of Southwestern foods.  Yucatan manufactures and markets fresh guacamole and salsa under the Yucatan and Cabo Fresh brands.  Sold nationwide and throughout Canada, Yucatan has long been a pioneer in the retail, pre-made guacamole category and is one of the largest brands in the set. 

“We have been building Flagship to be a scaled, multicategory food company with a focus on premium and Hispanic food products,” said Rob Holland, Executive Chairman of Flagship. 

“Our current product portfolio is very complementary to that of Yucatan,” added Matt Finnerty with Flagship.  “We are excited to plan some impactful cross-promoting of our world-famous Hatch Valley green chile and salsa, chips, tortillas, and now fresh guacamole.”

Yucatan joins a family of brands that includes 505 Southwestern, La Tortilla Factory, and Lilly B’s, to name a few of the Company’s most recognized brands in the Southwestern category.  The acquisition not only adds to the better-for-you offerings within Flagship, but also emphasizes a focus on vertical integration with the addition of 97,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space in Silao, Mexico. 

Through its subsidiaries Flagship Premium Food Group and Desert Premium Group, the Company has leadership positions in tortillas, tortilla chips, salsa, green chile, and frozen Mexican handheld categories. Its brands include 505 Southwestern, the largest jarred green chile brand in the USA; La Tortilla Factory, one of the nation’s largest tortilla brands that is focused on health and wellness; Hatch Kitchen and Lilly B’s, leading brands in the frozen burrito and quesadilla space; and Young Guns, a leader in food service Hatch Valley green chile. 

“This is great for the future of this legendary brand in the guacamole category,” said Stephen Hillion, VP of Sales and Marketing for Yucatan. “Being part of this broad family of complementary Hispanic and Southwestern food products will allow us to offer more value to our retail partners and to consumers. We are going into immediate action to collaborate with our partners to realize these synergies.” 

Flagship operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in Colorado, Kansas, California, New Mexico, and Mexico. The Company believes that it is the largest flame roaster of Hatch Valley green chiles in the world. 

“We’re really excited about expanding our consumer reach into the refrigerated Dairy, Deli and Produce categories, and Yucatan is the perfect brand partner.  We’ll be integrating Yucatan’s sales and marketing efforts into our salsa, green chile and dips business,” said Sam Carson, Brand President for 505 Southwestern.  “We’re wasting no time in merging this brand into our 505SW portfolio and innovating on products, marketing, quality, and packaging. This will be fun!”

“This acquisition will definitely result in some innovative product development,” added Holland.  “I expect we’ll see some exciting ‘Hatch Valley’ guacamole products coming out very soon.”

Media Contact: Courtney Lis, VOCA Public Relations, 970.581.6231 email hidden; JavaScript is required

Chicago-based cheese and desserts business adds to Flagship’s diversified food portfolio 

CHICAGO, IL & BOISE, ID – SmartPrice Sales & Marketing Inc. (SmartPrice) announced today that Flagship Food Group, LLC (Flagship), the owner of TJ Farms, 505 Southwestern and La Tortilla Factory, has acquired the operations of SmartPrice to support its future growth and expansion strategy. Flagship will become the majority owner of the company while current management remains in place; both Andy Topus and Scott Schwartz will remain shareholders and active in the combined business. 

SmartPrice sells and markets cheese, deli meats and dessert products, including Mexican Shreds, Singles, and other refrigerated products. The Company also has a line of frozen Mexican handheld snacks. The Company sells under the Casa Del Sol, Sunny Acres, Dolce Tuscano, and other brands. With the acquisition, Flagship adds to its portfolio of products and enters the dairy and refrigerated space. 

“We started SmartPrice almost 22 years ago to bring a portfolio of value priced perishable products to consumers. We filled a void and consumers responded. As we have grown, we’re thrilled to be partnering with Flagship to help us achieve our long term goals,” said Andy Topus, CEO and founder of SmartPrice. 

Scott Schwartz has joined Flagship as a Vice President and will continue in his role as he manages the SmartPrice business within Flagship’s TJ Farm’s division. “I am so excited about what we can do with our brands and products inside the Flagship organization, where we will have vastly expanded resources,” said Schwartz about the transaction. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Andy and Scott to our family. We’re a collection of family and small food businesses that are stronger together,” said Gary Lim with Flagship. Gary noted that Flagship has acquired over 20 food companies since 2005. 

Majority owned by CREO Capital Partners, Flagship is a diversified food company that sells a wide range of food products and services under the 505 Southwestern, La Tortilla Factory, Lilly B’s, Hatch Kitchen, TJ Farms and other brands. Most of Flagship’s brands are rapidly expanding, having experienced significant growth and expanded national distribution in recent years. 505 Southwestern, crafted with New Mexico Hatch Valley green chiles, is the country’s largest jarred green chile brand. 

“We are building a world-class, scaled, diversified food company. The Hispanic foods category has been our principal focus for nearly a decade, and the addition of SmartPrice expands both our capabilities and geographic footprint,” said Matt Finnerty with CREO Capital Partners, who led the transaction for the firm. 

Last year, Flagship and CREO announced the acquisition of La Tortilla Factory, a Santa Rosa, California-based maker of premium tortillas and Hispanic food products. The Company also acquired Tortilla King and Young Guns in 2021. 

The transaction closed in December. Terms of the transaction are confidential. 

Media Contact: Courtney Lis, VOCA Public Relations
970.581.6231 email hidden; JavaScript is required 

Eric Schroeder

MOUNDRIDGE, KAN. — Tortilla King, a subsidiary of Denver-based Flagship Food Group, LLC, has acquired approximately 18 acres of land adjacent to its manufacturing site in Moundridge as part a major expansion initiative. Tortilla King said phase one of the expansion already is underway and will increase the company’s flour tortilla manufacturing capacity by 25% once it’s complete.

Future phases of the expansion are expected to increase Tortilla King’s manufacturing capacity for tortilla chips, snacks and frozen foods. In addition, the company said it plans to develop frozen and dry warehouse and distribution capacity. Founded in 1992, Tortilla King makes private label flour tortillas, corn tortilla and tortilla chips, as well as products under the La Comida, Mama Lupe’s and Li’l Guy brands.

The investment and increased capacity are expected to benefit Flagship’s Mama Lupe’s, La Tortilla Factory, Lilly B’s and Hatch Kitchen brands.

“Flagship acquired our business last year with plans to expand on our site,” said Juan Guardiola, president of Tortilla King. “It didn’t take long for our collective team to decide that our centralized location, great people, and ample space for growth made the business case to expand our operation.”

Tortilla King employs approximately 130 people and operates five food manufacturing lines in Moundridge. The company expects the expansion project to more than double both employment count and capacity.

“Over the past couple of years Flagship has made several plant and manufacturing investments to support our brands and our customers,” said Forrest Kragten, principal at CREO Capital Partners, the financial investor behind Flagship and Tortilla King. “Service levels and reliability have set us apart, and we look forward to utilizing this facility expansion to better serve our customers.”Flagship Food, which manufactures premium and Hispanic foods under the 505 Southwestern, Lilly B’s, Hatch Kitchen, Mama Lupe’s, TJ Farms, La Tortilla Factory and other brands, also has approved expansions for manufacturing sites in California and New Mexico. 

Full Article

Schroeder, E. (2022, August 26). Flagship food acquires land for Tortilla King Expansion. Food Business News RSS. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/22076-flagship-food-acquires-land-for-tortilla-king-expansion