The owners of Angelic Bakehouse today announced that they have reached an agreement to sell the maker of non-GMO sprouted baked goods to Lancaster Colony Corporation, a maker of specialty foods based in Ohio.

Jenny and James Marino, owners of Angelic Bakehouse based in Cudahy, WI, said that they will remain in their current roles with the company and continue to manage and oversee the day to day operations.

"This agreement gives us a chance to 'sprout our wings' and continue on our journey to provide our customers with delicious and better nutrition options without compromise," said Jenny Marino, president and CEO of Angelic. "Lancaster Colony shares our unwavering commitment to consumers who are looking for a healthy option, but are unwilling to sacrifice the taste and texture of real bread. With Angelic, they don’t have to.

"Angelic Bakehouse will continue to produce the same products with non-GMO ingredients made by the same people who make them today and share our commitment to the belief that good enough is not good enough," she added. "All the powerful and pure ingredients that Mother Nature intended still will be used to make our breads, rolls, wraps, crusts, crisps and the other fine products we offer. Additionally, our partnership with Lancaster Colony will accelerate our commitment to new and innovative sprouted grain products that feature our proprietary sprouted mash™ ingredient.”

She noted that what will change is the fact that Angelic Bakehouse now will have the ability to vastly increase its national product distribution and make its baked goods available to a much larger national audience.

"Lancaster Colony shares our steadfast commitment to delicious foods, superior customer service and consumer value, and that's what makes them such a good match for Angelic Bakehouse," she said. "They respect the entrepreneurial nature of our business and the uncompromising passion that Angelic Bakehouse has for pure ingredients and pure bread perfection."

“We are thrilled to add Angelic Bakehouse and its terrific lineup of on-trend bakery products to our growing specialty foods business,” Dave Ciesinski, Lancaster Colony's President and Chief Operating Officer, stated. “Angelic is a highly relevant, on-trend business that produces a variety of great tasting, nutritious, non-GMO bakery items featuring its proprietary sprouted mash™ ingredient crafted with an assortment of unique sprouted grains. We are very excited to welcome Angelic's employees to the family of Lancaster Colony companies and look forward to a successful future together.”

Jenny Marino said that there would be no job reductions as a result of the acquisition and added that there is the potential for employment growth in the future.

"This opportunity presented a chance to keep doing what we have been doing without compromises. The leadership at Lancaster Colony can help take our bakery to the next level and provide the resources and expertise that we simply did not have," Jenny Marino said. "The seven-year journey we have made with our fans and supporters has been incredible, and we look forward to continued growth, making the same pure bread perfection and holding firm to our belief that using sprouted mash whole grains is the road to continued consumer satisfaction and success at meal time for millions of families throughout the nation."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

To read more about the growth of Angelic Bakehouse through the years, see:

• Look what’s sprouting up
• Angelic Bakehouse’s production purity
• Angelic Bakehouse expands offerings in Midwest