McCormick & Co. in April paid $114 million for Botanical Food Co. Pty. Ltd., a privately held company based in Australia that manufactures and sells the Gourmet Garden brand of packaged herbs.
The traditional portfolio of herbs (basil cilantro, etc.) are packaged and chilled, either "lightly dried" or in a "stir-in paste" in a plastic tube. The company already has distribution in the U.S., as well as Australia, but McCormick figures it can to drive sales by expanding global distribution and building brand awareness.
Botanical Food has annual sales of $53 million and has been growing at a double-digit rate. It's been around since 1999, has 200 employees and a modern manufacturing facility located in Queensland, Australia. Current management is expected to stay on.
