ACH FOOD COMPANIES, INC.
7171 Goodlette Farms Pkw., Cordova, TN 38018 USA
Tel: (901) 381-3000; (800) 691-1106 Fax: (901) 381-3185
URL: www.achfood.com
Total 2006-07 Sales Volume: $1 Billion+
Percentage of Sales in Exclusive Brands: N/A
Export Markets: Europe, SE Asia, Canada, South America, Mexico, Africa, Middle East.
Profile: Formerly called AC Humko, ACH Food Companies is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc, London, one of Europe’s largest food companies with sales of $13.6 billion ( £ 6.8 billion) operating in 43 countries and diversified in foods, ingredients, and retail stores. The company is traded on the London Stock Exchange (ABF). Website: www.abf.co.uk. Its grocery division (£2.6 billion) includes ACH Food Companies, Inc., a major supplier of herbs and spices and a leading store brand supplier of cooking oils, pan sprays, shortenings, non-dairy creamers in the United States. ACH has innovated, being the first company to put cooking oil in PET bottles and to introduce a rectangular bottle for store brands and a rectangular creamer jar to the retail trade, which enhances use of the store shelf and is consumer preferred for ease of opening. ACH also was first to add a foil top to shortening cans for store brands, emulating the brands. Recently, ACH along with Heartland Sweeteners partnered with Merisant, the maker of Equal brand sweetener, to provide grocers with a single source of private label zero calorie sweeteners: yellow for sucralose, prink for saccharin, and blue for aspartame. Meantime, ACH’s parent company, in July 2005, purchased Littlewoods Stores Holdings, which operates 122 Littlewood outlets in the UK and Ireland. Plans called for keeping 40% of their selling space and converting the outlets over to the Primark fascia. There are now 170 Primark stores (value clothing and accessories) in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and Spain. The stores are own brand outlets, selling apparel under the Primark, Atmosphere and other store brands.
Products: Cooking oils, including vegetable, canola, olive, sunflower, peanut, blends, corn; non-dairy creamers, including lite, fat-free, and flavored; pan sprays; shortening; spices & seasonings.
Sales Contacts: Brian Hoots, Director of Sales
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RALCORP HOLDINGS, INC.
NYSE: RAH
800 Market St., St. Louis, MO 63101 USA
Tel: (314) 877-7039 Fax: N/A
URL: www.ralcorp.com
Total Fiscal 2007 Sales: $ 2.2 Billion +15.8%
Pecentage of Sales in Exclusive Brands: 90%+ (E)
Total Sales (including Post cereal busines added in fiscal 2008): $ 3.3 Billion
Pecentage with Post in Exclusive Brands: 49%
Export Markets: N/A
Profile: Ralcorp Holdings was formed in 1994, following its spinoff from the former parent company, Ralston Purina. Since 1997, the company has acquired 19 other companies, mostly manufacturers of store brand or value-oriented foods. Today, Ralcorp oversees four operating segments (the Post acquistion completed in July 2008 adds a fifth segment). They are (underscored segments alphabetically broken out in SOURCEBOOK):
(1) Bremner Food Group - $325 million + (store brand crackers & cookies/Nutcracker Brands store brand and value brand snack nuts/RyKrisp crispbread
(2) Carriage House - $424 million +9% private label shelf stable foods/Medallion Foods store brand corn-based snack foods/Linette Quality Chocolate private label chocolate confections
(3)Ralcorp frozen baking products - $620 million +40% (pancakes, waffles, French toast, frozen prebaked items
(4) Ralston Foods (listed below) - $610 million +35% private label ready-to-eat & hot cereals
(5) Post brand ready-to-eat cereals.
Ralcorp reports its cereals, crackers and cookies segment together represent $935 million in sales +20%; while snack nuts & candy represent $254 million +6%. The biggest acquisition for Ralcorp was completed in July 2008, when the company literally changed from primarily a dedicated private label/value brand supplier, i.e., the nation’s leading producer of private label foods and a major producer of foodservice products, into a branded company as well. The company purchased the Post cereal business from Kraft Foods Inc., a merge valued at $2.6 billion.; Post is the third laragesst branded ready-to-eat U.S. Cereal manufacturer with a 100-year history. Ralcorp acquired its manufacturing plants in Battle Creek, MI; Jonesboro, AR; Modesta, CA; and Niagara Falls, ONST, Canada. The deal gave Kraft shareholders 54% stake in the combined companies, while Ralcorp shareholders got 46% stake. Ralcorp, which reported debt of $763.6 million at the end of fiscal 2007, picked up another $960 million in debt with this acquisition. In addition, Ralcorp holds an interest of approximately 19% in Vail Resorts, Inc., the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. After the close of fiscal 2006 (September 30), Ralcorp in November 2006 acquried Cottage Bakery, Lodi, CA, a leading manufacturer of high-quality frozen par-baked breads and frozen dough sold in retail stores and in the foodservice channel. Later in fiscal 2007, Ralcorp acquired Bloomfield Bakers, L.P. And its affiliate Lovin Oven LLC, a leading manufacturer of nutritional and cereal bars and natural and organic specialty cereals, cookies and crackers, which was integrated into the Ralston Foods business unit (see below). Ralcorp, as a result, has become more diversified: branded busliness 32% of sales, private label 49% of sales, and frozen bakery 19% of sales. Deal boosts Ralcorp’s 2007 sales up by 50% to $3.3 billion with Post business claiming 32% of those sales.
Products: Variety of foods (see below and separate listings in sourcebook)
Sales Contacts: See each division listing
RALSTON FOODS
(Division of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc.)
800 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63101 USA
Tel: (314) 877-7710; (800) 772-6757 Fax: (314) 877-7786
URL: www.ralstonfoods.com
Total Sales: $609.9 Million +34.8%
Percentage of Sales in Exclusive Brands: N/A
Export Markets: Caribbean region, Central and South America
Profile: For 50+ years, Ralston Foods has been the leading US producer of store brand ready-to-eat cereals (61% of sales at retail) and hot breakfast cereals 11% of sales at retail), sold under the individual labels of grocery retailers. Many top grocery chains and wholesalers purchase Ralston’s store brand cereals. The company now produces more than 40 cereal varieties, using flaking, extrusion and shredding technologies. The company’s new product development efforts have yielded the first store brand versions of Kellogg’s Cocoa Frosted Flakesä and Kellogg’s Honey Crunch Corn Flakesä. Ralston has five cereal plants in the United States to assure a fresh and continued supply. During fiscal 2007, parent company Ralcorp purchased Bloomfield Bakers and its affiliate Lovin Oven LLC and integrated them into Ralston Foods.
Products: Ready-to-Eat cereals, quick and old fashioned oats, instant oats, cereal snack bars
Sales Contacts: Dan Bersett, Director of Sales Operations
