Columbia Grain International Makes Acquisition, Opens Consumer Products Business

June 23, 2023

Enrich Foods LLC will offer grain-, dry bean- and pulse-based products to retail customers after the company purchases Great River Milling.

Andy Hanacek

Portland, Ore.-based Columbia Grain International (CGI), a 45-year-old bulk grain and pulse producer and distributor, announced the acquisition of Fountain City, Wis.-based Great River Milling, and the subsequent formation of a new consumer products business unit called Enrich Foods LLC. Enrich Foods adds Great River Milling’s operations, including a new, state-of-the-art packaging and distribution facility.

Enrich Foods will be the consumer products subsidiary of CGI, and is expected to offer high-quality, premium grain, dry bean and pulse-based products to the retail marketplace. The product portfolio includes the Balanced Bushel line of premium dry beans and pulses and Great River Milling’s line of organic and specialty baking flour, grains and breakfast products.

The Great River acquisition also brings that company’s co-manufacturing and private label capacities and expertise into the Enrich Foods portfolio. CGI’s Balanced Bushel brand will be integrated into Enrich Foods.

CGI will integrate its own Balanced Bushel brand of dry beans and pulses in consumer-friendly packaging into the Enrich Foods portfolio.

CGI and Enrich Foods CEO and president, Jeff Van Pevenage, commented in a release sent by the company that the acquisition leverages CGI’s agricultural base of 5,000 producers and opens new markets for them in return.

The new, SQF-certified processing facility that Enrich Foods now owns features high-speed robotic lines for high capacity, offers packing, milling and blending capabilities for stone or hammer mill, as well as innovative packaging options from laminated to recyclable, compostable and biodegradable. It also offers a range of package sizes and types for retail, club and foodservice use.

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.