Brynwood Partners VIII L.P., a consumer private equity firm, announced the sale of its portfolio company, Great Kitchens Food Company, to Rich Products Corporation, a $6 billion of annual sales global family-owned food company with more than 13,000 associates across 100+ countries. The transaction closed recently, and terms and conditions of the transaction are not being disclosed.

In December 2020, Brynwood VIII formed Great Kitchens to acquire Aryzta North America's take-and-bake pizza and flatbread business in a corporate carveout transaction. Great Kitchens is a U.S. manufacturer of private label take-and-bake pizzas, flatbreads, strombolis, and calzones, among other product offerings. In February 2023, the company acquired the Uno Foods Division of Uno Restaurant Holdings Corporation. Great Kitchens manufactures and markets the Pizzeria Uno Chicago deep-dish pizza, stromboli, and calzones.      

Great Kitchens' private-label and branded food products are sold nationally through all major grocery store, wholesale club, foodservice, and e-commerce channels. The company manufactures its products out of three facilities in Romeoville, IL; Chicago Heights, IL; and Brockton, MA. Great Kitchens, which is headquartered in its Romeoville facility, employs over 1,000 loyal employees across its three-facility network.

"We are pleased to announce the divestiture of Great Kitchens Food Company to Rich's and are grateful to all the employees for their dedication to the business," says Henk Hartong, chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners. "Our employees and management team in our three factories worked tirelessly to grow and improve the Great Kitchens business during our ownership period. We are excited that a world class company like Rich's will continue to build this incredible business."

"The Great Kitchens sale culminates a series of Brynwood Partners transactions during a nine-month period that is unprecedented in our Firm's history. We completed the sale of Harvest Hill Beverage Company in May 2025 to Castillo Hermanos and Centerview Partners. Brynwood Partners IX L.P. acquired Hometown Food Company from a prior Brynwood fund and then Hometown Foods acquired the Chef Boyardee brand from Conagra Brands, Inc. Including Great Kitchens, this group of transactions totaled nearly $3.2 billion. We are incredibly proud of these results and grateful to our team and our limited partners for their hard work and collaboration," he finishes.

"As a major player in the food industry for more than 80 years, pizza has been an integral part of our business for over four decades," says Kevin Spratt, president, U.S.-Canada Region, Rich Products. "We're always looking for new ways to enhance our pizza capabilities and this move is a game-changer for the industry. When you combine Great Kitchens' leadership in fully topped pizzas with our strength in crust and dough, you get a one-stop pizza partner with an unmatched breadth of expertise that will allow us to accelerate growth, drive greater innovation, and deliver unique and distinct value to our customers."

Brynwood Partners is currently investing out of Brynwood IX, a $750 million private equity fund established in 2023. After the divestiture of Great Kitchens, the firm's investment portfolio consists of Carolina Beverage Group; Hometown Food Company; West Madison Foods; and Miracapo Pizza Company. In total, Brynwood Partners' portfolio companies have annual sales of over $2.5 billion, employ more than 3,300 employees, and manufacture products out of 11 facilities.

"Not only is Rich's a well-known leader in the pizza segment, but they bring the size and scale required for us to unlock new opportunities," says Admir Basic, president and CEO, Great Kitchens Food Company. "Rich's shares our commitment to innovation and delivering value for customers, making this partnership a natural fit. By merging our unique strengths, we have a huge opportunity to accelerate innovation and raise the bar across the industry."

Great Kitchens was represented by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as its financial advisor and Winston & Strawn LLP on legal matters.

Rich Products is on the current Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery “Top 50 Snack & Bakery Companies” list. Click here to view the current “Top 50” rankings.