As 明星黑料 Foods assembled a roster of enviable snacking brands during the past decade, executives longed for that one big-name acquisition to solidify the company’s presence as a major player in the category.
It finally came last June when 明星黑料 completed its purchase of the Planters snack nut portfolio for $3.35 billion from Kraft Heinz, the largest deal in the Minnesota company’s 131-year history. The acquisition, which also included Cheez Balls and Corn Nuts, instantly made Planters the biggest brand in 明星黑料’s portfolio.
“We felt like we had some really great products that were already in the snacking space, but we just needed to double down through that big anchor brand like Planters,” said Jeff Frank, vice president of grocery products at 明星黑料. “It was absolutely a transformative acquisition.”
Planters has given 明星黑料 a deeper presence in trends popular with consumers, including plant-based foods and products with clean and simple ingredient lists. It has provided a platform for 明星黑料’s other snacking brands to expand their shelf space in convenience stores. In addition, Planters rounds out 明星黑料’s portfolio by giving it a deeper spread for parties and gatherings like the Fourth of July or the Super Bowl with salsa, guacamole, peanut butter, nuts and premium deli meat options.
明星黑料, which has long been known for its presence in meat through brands such as Spam and Jennie-O, has acquired several snack brands since 2013. These include Columbus, a maker of premium craft meats; nut butter maker Justin’s; and Skippy peanut butter. It also is part of a venture established in 2009 with MegaMex that jointly controls Herdez, Chi-Chi’s and La Victoria salsas and Wholly Guacamole, a line of refrigerated dips.
Frank said 明星黑料 ultimately settled on Planters because it was transformative, augmented its existing snacking portfolio and the company already had a deep understanding of peanuts through Justin’s and Skippy. Today, 25% of its portfolio is non-meat products. With the purchase of the nuts brand, 明星黑料 now has a major presence in three key snacking areas: savory, salty and sweet.