B&G Foods Inc., Parsippany, N.J., the owner of several grocery brands, including Grandma’s Molasses, Ortega and Cream of Wheat, has been expanding into the snack aisle and just landed the healthy option in its third deal for a snack company. CEO David Wenner says the price was at a higher valuation than B&G has typically paid for a company in a deal, but said that Pirate’s Booty was going to expand the company’s offerings and its growth rate. He added that he hoped it would “broaden our appeal as a stock going forward.”
Though Pirate’s Booty and its other offerings of flavored rice-puffs are marketed toward children, a target B&G does not normally aim for, Wenner says the appeal is broad. He believed the organic and healthy-snack aspects of the brand are particularly relevant to today’s consumer.