The Original Cakerie, a leading manufacturer of high-quality frozen desserts for retail and foodservice customers across North America, announced that it has named Paul J. Lapadat as Chief Executive Officer of a new holding company established to accelerate growth. Mr. Lapadat, a longtime executive with deep experience leading both consumer product conglomerates and specialty food companies, succeeds Dave Hood who was CEO of The Original Cakerie for more than 20 years. Mr. Hood will become an Advisor to the Board of Directors of The Original Cakerie. 

Concurrently, The Original Cakerie announced it has restructured its business under a holding company known as Desserts Holdings, based in St. Paul, MN. Desserts Holdings will allow a shared services model and integrated selling organization between The Original Cakerie and Lawler Foods to better serve current and prospective customers. Both The Original Cakerie and Lawler Foods are portfolio companies of Gryphon Investors, a San Francisco-based middle market private equity firm.

The Original Cakerie, founded in 1979, is based in Delta, British Columbia, Canada, with a second production facility in London, Ontario. Lawler Foods, a manufacturer of gourmet cheesecakes, layer cakes, pies and other desserts, is based in Humble, TX. Together, the companies serve over 200 customers in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe.  

As part of the transition, Chris W. Rogers has also been named CFO for the Holding Company and will report to Mr. Lapadat in the St. Paul office.  Doris Bitz, SVP Retail Sales & Marketing, will become President of The Original Cakerie. The Original Cakerie and Lawler Foods will remain stand-alone, independent operating companies with their own brands. The companies’ manufacturing operations will remain in Delta, London, and the Houston area. 

Dennis O’Brien, a Partner at Gryphon Investors and Chairman of the Board of The Original Cakerie, said, “We are pleased to welcome Paul to Desserts Holdings. Having worked closely with him on our previous successful investment in Flagstone Foods, we are very familiar with Paul’s leadership skills and believe he will be instrumental to building this unique platform company. Likewise, we welcome Chris and we are excited to see Doris move into her new role as President.  We are fortunate to have attracted leaders of Paul, Chris and Doris’s caliber.  We are equally grateful for Dave Hood’s continuing presence, and we expect to take full advantage of his immeasurable product and industry knowledge.”

Mr. Lapadat added, “I am excited to be working alongside Gryphon again to continue to grow this highly respected business in the premium dessert space. The Original Cakerie and Lawler Foods are best-in-class companies and I look forward to working with their teams to increase capabilities and expand our dessert offerings so that our retail and foodservice customers will continue to view us as their company of choice.”

Mr. Hood commented, “I am pleased to have worked with the Gryphon team on the ownership transition of The Original Cakerie and I know it will continue to be viewed as the premier premium frozen desserts company in North America. I look forward to continuing my work as a strategic advisor.”