Arbor Investments, Chicago, has acquired South Coast Baking, LLC, Irvine, CA. Founded in 2011 by baking industry veteran Kent Hayden, the company is a leading frozen cookie dough manufacturer in North America. It operates out of two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities—one in Irvine and one in Springdale, AR—and is a partner to a number of North America's leading club stores, grocery retailers, foodservice distributors and quick-service restaurants.

South Coast will join Arbor’s baking platform, Le Petit Pain Holdings, which includes New French Bakery Inc., Minneapolis; Best Maid Cookie Company Inc., River Falls, WI; and Hudson Baking Co. Inc., Hudson, WI. The Le Petit Pain platform is overseen by Arbor operating partner Mike Schultz, a 20-year executive in the baking industry.

“South Coast is a critical piece to our long-term strategy in the baking segment,” says Brody Lynn, Arbor vice president. “Kent and his team have built a tremendous company with high-quality products and a customer-driven culture that will fit seamlessly into our baking platform.”

“The addition of South Coast transforms Le Petit Pain into a formidable player in the North American baking landscape," says Schultz. “The company's complimentary product offering and strategic manufacturing locations will create significant opportunities to expand the platform's geographic reach across all product categories.”