YORK, MAINE — Specialty food manufacturer Stonewall Kitchen on Sept. 30 completed its acquisition of the Vermont Village brand of organic applesauce and apple cider vinegar products. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Barre, Vt., Vermont Village operates three facilities and employs about 35. The company’s apple cider vinegar, apple cider vinegar shots, functional vinegars, malt vinegar, apple sauces and apple butter are sold in more than 13,000 stores nationwide.
“We’re thrilled to expand our family with this partnership,” said John Stiker, chief executive officer of Stonewall Kitchen. “Vermont Village is a leader in various apple and vinegar products, with exceptional offerings like their signature Organic Unsweetened Applesauce, just recently voted the No. 1 best-tasting applesauce in an independent taste test of 28 different brands by Epicurious. As fellow New Englanders, we’re looking forward to combining the strength of our business with the Vermont Village brand to grow together in product innovation and distribution.”
Joseph Sheperd, owner of Village Cannery of Vermont, added, “This is an exciting new chapter for us at Vermont Village. Since our early days way back in the 1970s, we’ve dedicated our work to successfully launching products which nourish our customers, community and environment. We’re ready to accelerate the growth of our brand, and by joining Stonewall Kitchen, we look forward to leveraging our combined product, sales and marketing expertise to do just that.”
In early August, Audax Private Equity acquired a controlling interest in Stonewall Kitchen from Centre Partners. Stonewall Kitchen manufactures branded specialty food and gift products, including jams, olive oils, bottled sauces, crackers and pancake mixes. The company’s portfolio consists of the flagship Stonewall Kitchen brand; Tillen Farms pickled vegetables and cocktail cherries; Napa Valley Naturals olive oils, culinary oils, balsamic vinegars and wine vinegars; Montebello organic pasta; and the Legal Sea Foods brand of seafood, sauces and condiments. The company has more than 6,000 wholesale accounts nationwide and internationally, an online direct-to-consumer business, nine company stores in New England and a flagship campus featuring a store, cafe and cooking school in York.
