Utz Brands has bought from Conagra Brands the brand name and technology to fill pretzel bits with peanut butter.
Utz paid a price that was undisclosed, but less than $10 million, to Conagra for its H.K. Anderson brand of pretzel nuggets filled with peanut butter. The deal includes the name and intellectual property related to the product, but does not include facilities, equipment or employees. The deal is Utz’s first since it was acquired and taken public this summer by private-equity executives who had been with Blackstone Group.
“The approximate $100 million filled segment of pretzels is ripe for innovation and growth,” Utz CEO Dylan Lissette said in a statement. "As we look to increase our share in the rapidly expanding salty snack category through new products and geographic growth, this type of acquisition is tailor-made for the synergies and growth opportunity afforded by our platform.”
Utz’s other products include cheese balls, Zapp’s potato chips and T.G.I. Friday’s potato skins.
