B&G Selling Back to Nature Line to Barilla

Dec. 16, 2022

Move comes five years after it bought the brand from Mondelēz.

B&G Foods is selling Back to Nature, its brand of healthy cookies and snacks, to Barilla Group.

The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. Terms were not disclosed, nor did the companies mention anything about transferring production facilities or other capital assets.

Founded in 1960, Back to Nature is a line of cookies, crackers, granola, and nuts & trail mix products, mostly distributed in specialty and natural retail channels. B&G acquired it in 2017, along with the SnackWells line of low-fat cookies, from Mondelēz International for $162.5 million.

“The acquisition of Back to Nature is consistent with Barilla's long-term strategy to build a strong multi-brand bakery platform in the United States,” Barilla said in a statement.

“Our decision to sell Back to Nature is part of a broader effort at B&G Foods to focus our portfolio on businesses that are core to our long-term strategy as we transition to a business unit structure,” B&G CEO Casey Keller said in a statement. “The divestiture will also allow us to reduce long-term debt, while providing Barilla America with a great brand.”

About the Author

Pan Demetrakakes | Senior Editor

Pan has written about the food and beverage industry for more than 25 years. His areas of coverage have included formulations, processing, packaging, marketing and retailing. Pan worked for Food Processing Magazine for six years in the 1990s, where he was operations editor (his current role), touring dozens of food plants of every description. He has also worked for Packaging and Food & Beverage Packaging magazines, the latter as chief editor, during which he won three ASBPE awards. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a BA in communications.