Snak King Receives Investment From PE Firm Falfurrias Mgmt. Partners

Aug. 16, 2024

Private equity firm has targeted private label salty snacks as a category of interest and will lend its support to one of the leaders in that arena, the company said.

Andy Hanacek

Snack foods processor Snak King has received an investment from private equity firm Falfurrias Management Partners, according to a release from the PE firm. Snak King is headquartered in City of Industry, Calif., and produces a wide variety of snack foods, including tortilla chips, rolled tortilla chips, potato chips, popcorn, extruded and co-extruded snacks, nut clusters, and more.

Falfurrias will supply its food industry expertise to Snak King, with Ken Walker and Chip Johnson joining the Snak King board, as well as Dave Katz, president and COO of Coca-Cola Consolidated, Bill Lovette, CEO of Sauer Brands, and Bill Ladd, former senior executive and vice president of Supply Chain Transformation at PepsiCo.

Johnson noted in the announcement that Falfurrias has identified private-label salty snacks as a major category of interest, leading to the investment in Snak King based on its capabilities, industry leadership and team-oriented culture.

Snak King was founded in 1978, and CEO Barry Levin joined the company one year later as its third employee. The company started out as a small co-manufacturer of pork rinds with a 1,200-sq.-ft. processing facility in Los Angeles. Today, Snak King employs more than 780 people in facilities in the greater Los Angeles and Chicago areas. The company also owns brands including El Sabroso, The Whole Earth, Granny Goose, and Jensen’s Orchard, adjacent to its private label and co-man business.

Falfurrias Capital Partners IV and Falfurrias Capital Partners V supplied the equity for the investment, which builds on the PE firm’s experience investing in food-focused companies. Other such businesses include Sauer Brands, Local Hive and Carolina Foods, among others.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.