Annie's Naturals Merges with Napa Valley company, to leave Vermont

November 16, 2005
North Calais-based Annies Naturals Merges with Napa ValleyNatural Foods Consortium/center>North Calais, VTAfter 21 years of operation in a farmhouse at the top of Foster Hill Road in North Calais, Annies Naturals, natural foods leading brand of salad dressings and condiments, announced today that it will merge its Vermont business with Napa, Calif.-based Homegrown Naturals, a consortium of leading natural foods companies that includes natural mac and cheese maker Annies Homegrown, Consorzio, and Fantastic Foods. The merger will result in all Vermont operations and jobs moving to California over the next six months.Annies Naturals co-owners Annie Christopher and Peter Backman will retain minority stakes in Homegrown Naturals. Solera Capital, a NY private equity firm, owns a majority interest in Homegrown Naturals. In the early 1980s, while in culinary school, Christopher operated a summer BBQ stand on the Barre-Montpelier Road in Central Vermont, before turning her attention to selling her barbecue sauce full time in 1984. Her products quickly attracted a following, with her Goddess Dressing growing to become the best-selling salad dressing in the natural foods marketplace. For more than 20 years, weve worked very hard to build a company that is successful, a leader in natural foods, and dedicated to certain social and local causes, said Backman. We have the same historical roots and customer base as Homegrown Naturals subsidiaries, which makes us a natural fit. Our new relationship with Homegrown Naturals gives us a broader platform to work from, giving us more flexibility and greater access to new markets. I especially want to thank the Vermont Department of Agriculture, who under the Kunin administration during the early years of my business, supported me and invited me to a New York food show in 1984 where I was discovered by Bloomingdales, said Christopher. And a big thank you to Dick Agney, now theexecutive vice president of the Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation, who truly was the only person who would give me a loan back then.Annies Naturals, which employs thirteen people in North Calais and three regional sales managers elsewhere in the US, will be phasing its office, marketing, and sales operations to Napa, Calif., over the next six months. Among the merger agreement terms is a bonus to be distributed among Annies Naturals employees. Annies Naturals will also be providing employment counseling and financial advising services for employees not relocating. All the employees here have made invaluable contributions to the companys overall growth and success, said Backman. The bonus were distributing to employees is a reward for their dedication and hard work here. We determined the bonus amounts based on employees years of employment with us and their positions in the company. Christopher and Backman are also establishing a charitable fund that will be administered by the Vermont Community Foundation to support non-profit organizations committed to promoting the arts, health-related causes, nutrition education, sustainable agriculture and education programs related to these causes. Christopher and Backman will remain with the company for at least one year to oversee product development, brand management, sales and marketing, and to help ensure a smooth transition and continued success of Annies Naturals. Specifically, Christopher will be contributing to further product development of Annies Naturals as well as to Homegrown Naturals other subsidiary brands, retaining each brands individual identity.Were excited about working with Homegrown Naturals and sharing our knowledge and experience with them, said Backman. Annies Naturals and Annies Homegrown have been mistaken for each other for years.Now the two shall be one, said Christopher.Founded by Christopher in North Calais in 1984, Annies Naturals began in the 1813 farmhouse kitchen where Backmans family has lived amid 200 acres of family farmland for seven generations. Annies Naturals is now the best-selling brand of salad dressings and condiments in the natural foods marketplace and distributes its products in supermarkets, natural food stores, mainstream supermarkets, and specialty stores throughout the US, Canada, and in several countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. /x-tad-smaller>/fontfamily>###/x-tad-smaller>/fontfamily>/center>