The deal was clinched through Premium Brands’ Ferndale-based subsidiary, Hempler Foods Group in Washington State.
Isernio’s, which was founded by Frank Isernio in 1980, is a leading premium fresh sausage brand in the US Pacific Northwest. It operates out of a new 28,000ft2 production facility based in Kent, Washington and has annual sales of approximately $14 million.
“We are very honoured to become the new owner of this great company,” said George Paleologou, president and CEO of Premium Brands. “This will bring together two of the US Pacific Northwest’s most iconic speciality packaged meat brands: Hempler’s and Isernio’s.
‘Strong management team’
“Isernio’s met all of our acquisition criteria, including a strong management team, an authentic specialty foods brand and a niche market-based business strategy. Furthermore, Isernio’s culture of strong family values and its unrelenting dedication to producing the highest-quality products make it a perfect fit with Hempler’s.
“We are very confident that Isernio’s, which has been growing at double-digit rates in recent years, will be able to further accelerate its growth by leveraging Premium Brands’ sales and marketing infrastructure in the US and our Canadian operations’ infrastructure in Canada.”
Stephen Bates, president of Hempler’s, said: “I am very pleased to welcome the Isernio’s team to the Hempler’s family. We have known and respected Mr Isernio and his management team for many years and are very much looking forward to working with them.
‘Second production facility’
“I am also very excited to be adding a second production facility to our group, as our compounded growth of more than 20% over the past several years has created ongoing production capacity challenges for us.”
Frank Isernio, president, CEO and founder of Isernio’s, added: “I believe that Premium Brands and Hempler’s are the right partners for the business, based on our common cultures, shared values and commitment to producing premium-quality products.”