May 19, 2008
Manischewitz® Announces Strategic Investment in Cuisine Innovations, LLC
SECAUCUS, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)—May 19, 2008--
R.A.B. Food Group. LLC, the owner of Manischewitz,® today announces a significant investment in Cuisine Innovations, LLC. While continuing to operate separately from Manischewitz®, this investment brings together two leading branded kosher and specialty food organizations and solidifies RAB Food Group’s position as the nation’s leading kosher food company.
RAB Food Group President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Bossidy said: "The partnership with Cuisine Innovations complements and strengthens our core kosher businesses while also creating new strategic options for us. We will now be able to work closely to better serve our consumers, retailers and foodservice customers while enjoying purchasing synergies and enhanced brand marketing.”
Paul Bensabat and Alain Bankier of Cuisine Innovations will be joining the organization as Co-Presidents working directly with management on acquisitions and strategy as well as the strategic development of the Cuisine Innovations business. “We are very excited to be working with the new team and believe that the combination will provide for an even brighter future for both organizations” said Bensabat.
ABOUT R.A.B. FOOD GROUP, LLC: Manischewitz® is a 120 year old branded food manufacturer including the largest processed kosher food company in North America. It manufactures and markets Manischewitz®, Rokeach®, Horowitz/Margareten®, Mishpacha®, Goodman’s®, Season® and Guiltless Gourmet® brand products.
ABOUT CUISINE INNOVATIONS, LLC: Cuisine Innovations is a leading frozen specialty and kosher foods company that manufactures and markets products under the Cuisine Innovations™, Cohen’s®, Ratner’s®, and Barney’s® brands. With its three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, the company is today the largest privately held frozen hors d’oeuvres manufacturer in the US. Over the past four years, Cuisine Innovations has acquired DFG Foods (the specialty appetizers division of Tyson’s Food), Herb’s Specialty Foods and King Kold®/Ratner’s®.
December 10, 2007
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP ACQUIRES RATNER’S AND KING KOLD
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP, LLC (SFG) announced that it recently acquired substantially all of the assets of RATNER’S LLC and KING KOLD, LLC and that it has now completed the integration of the assets into its operations. RATNER’S LLC and KING KOLD LLC were previously owned by King Kold LLC, a Chicago Corporation, which was itself owned by VIENNA BEEF LTD, located in Chicago, Illinois and other shareholders. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
RATNER’S is a value-added frozen kosher food manufacturer since 1950. It is one of the leading producers of kosher specialties such as Blintzes, Matzo Balls and Potato Pancakes, as well as a unique line of Veggie Grillers and Natural Soups. The company distributes its products primarily under the famous RATNER’S brand nationwide in all channels of distribution (including foodservice, retail and club stores), as well as under the KING KOLD brand. RATNER’S was originally founded in 1905 as a restaurant on New York’s lower east side and it quickly became a legendary meeting place for vaudeville comedians, politicians and celebrities, as well as for all fans of great food. RATNER’S products are renowned for their fresh, all natural ingredients, zesty seasonings and traditional recipes.
The RATNER’S manufacturing operation, originally in Chicago has now been successfully transferred to COHEN’S FOOD’S, which is SAVEUR FOOD GROUP’s kosher operation in Lakewood, New Jersey. The COHEN’S FOOD plant is an OU kosher and Organic Certified state of the art facility. “The addition of RATNER’S is a very strong complement to our portfolios of companies CUISINE INNOVATIONS, COHEN’S FOOD and NEW WAVE CUISINE, and is perfectly in line with our development strategy in the premium prepared frozen specialty food arena,” declared Paul Bensabat co-owner of SFG. “The synergies with our famous COHEN’S brand of kosher products are excellent and will allow us to consolidate and increase our position in the fast growing premium kosher and natural specialty food segment” added Alain Bankier, also co-owner of SFG.
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP (SFG) acquired TYSON FOOD’s appetizer division, CUISINE INNOVATIONS as well as COHEN’S FOOD a leading frozen kosher specialty food operation (both formerly known as DFG Foods) in late 2003. CUISINE INNOVATIONS is today the largest privately held frozen hors d’oeuvres manufacturer in the U.S. In 2006, SFG acquired a leading specialty seafood manufacturer, NEW WAVE CUISINE (formerly known as Herb’s Seafood-Kaptain’s Ketch).
SFG invests in companies in the branded premium prepared food industry, focused on the soup, hors d’oeuvres/appetizer, entree and dessert product categories. The company was founded in 2003 by Paul Bensabat, formerly President & CEO of Sorrento/Lactalis, and a 30-year food industry veteran, and Alain Bankier, formerly Head of BNP/Paribas’s North American Corporate Finance activity, with 30 years of investment banking experience, including a strong food industry specialty.
February 26, 2007
COHEN’S BRAND UNDERGOES COMPLETE REDESIGN
CUISINE INNOVATIONS/COHEN’S FOOD, the largest privately held hors d’oeuvres/specialty appetizer manufacturer, announced that it is rolling out a totally new design for its well known COHEN’s brand. The brand, which was founded in 1947, became famous when it launched its kosher “Mini Franks in a Blanket”, and has since been the leading brand of kosher hors d’oeuvres and other kosher specialties, with a particularly strong market penetration in the eastern half of the US.
“Over the past several months, we have implemented, throughout the COHEN’S product line, a major quality upgrade thanks to our unparalleled new state of the art manufacturing facility. This has prompted us to redesign the look of our brand and packaging to reflect a more premium and modern look that the product clearly deserves” declared Jay Winter, the company’s Vice President of Marketing.
COHEN’S new look still retains the distinctive purple box which consumers are so used to seeing, but also features a sleeker design and outstanding mouth watering photography on each package. Market tests of the new design showed as much as a 50% increase in retail sales. This encouraged COHEN’S Food to roll out the new packaging, throughout its line in 2007, on a nationwide basis. The new design will appear progressively on the shelves. The well-known Cohen’s tag line, “It’s not just kosher, it’s COHEN’S” will remain prominently displayed on all the new packaging.
“2007 will also be the year in which we will be adding a variety of new exciting kosher products under the COHEN’S brand, something which our loyal consumers have been requesting,” added Jay Winter.
Cuisine Innovations/Cohen’s Food (www.cuisineinnovations.com), formerly known as DFG Food, was purchased three years ago from Tyson Foods by Saveur Food Group (also parent company to New Wave Cuisine) (www.saveurfood.com). The company has since then been entirely “reengineered” and is now headquartered in Lakewood, New Jersey.
January 31, 2007
CUISINE INNOVATIONS EXPANDS ITS “TEAM CUISINE”
CUISINE INNOVATIONS LLC, the largest privately held hors d’oeuvres/specialty appetizers manufacturer, well known for its leading COHEN’S brand, and its sister company NEW WAVE CUISINE (formally known as Herb’s Seafood) announced that they have recently substantially expanded their combined management and sales team. In an effort to better serve their clients and respond to the ever increasing demand for their products, CUISINE INNOVATIONS and NEW WAVE CUISINE have reinforced their team by adding several sales professionals with extensive experience, including: two Regional Foodservice Sales Managers, one Alternative Channels Sales Manager, one National Retail Sales Manager, and a Product Training Specialist.
“The Product Training Specialist position was created as a necessity to help support our nationwide Sales and Marketing Agencies network which Cuisine Innovations has built (currently over 70 broker/agencies), and to ensure that our Agencies continue to develop their expertise on the 400+ products which we now offer,” declared Tom Engels, the company’s Vice President of Sales. “In addition, we have completely upgraded the quality of our products through exciting recipe reformulations and as a result of the superior level of production standards from our three new state of the art facilities” he added.
To maintain their position as innovation leaders, CUISINE INNOVATIONS and NEW WAVE CUISINE have also added two full time, industry renowned chefs to their R&D department. Both chefs bring in-depth food experience in restaurant chains, white tablecloth restaurants, hotels and premium catering operations. CUISINE INNOVATIONS and NEW WAVE CUISINE plan to launch over 25 new products in 2007.
“The market’s appreciation of the enhanced quality of our products and creativity has generated many new requests for our product lines from other channels of distributions and from new customers in our existing channels. Servicing our clients beyond their expectations is our philosophy, and to achieve this objective we continue to invest in the best people, to ensure that we have the right team in place at all times” stated Gary Bensley, Cuisine Innovations CEO.
CUISINE INNOVATIONS LLC (www.cuisineinnovations.com), formerly known as DFG Foods, was purchased in 2003 from Tyson Foods Inc. by SAVEUR FOOD GROUP LLC. The company is now headquartered in Lakewood, New Jersey. NEW WAVE CUISINE (www.newwavecuisine.com)) was purchased by SAVEUR FOOD GROUP LLC in February 2006.
April 10, 2006
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP ACQUIRES HERB’S SEAFOOD
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP, LLC announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary CUISINE INNOVATIONS, LLC, (the appetizer division purchased from TYSON FOODS in 2003 and formerly known as DFG Foods), has acquired the business of HERB’S SEAFOOD Inc. (HERB’S). CUISINE INNOVATIONS is the largest privately held frozen hors d’oeuvres manufacturer in the U.S. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Mt Holly, New Jersey, HERB’S is a value-added frozen seafood manufacturer founded in 1965. Housed in a multi-million dollar facility with state of the art food processing and freezing equipment, it is one of the leading producers of frozen crab cake, as well as frozen seafood appetizers and entrees. The company distributes its products under the KAPTAIN’S KETCH brand nationwide in all channels of distribution (including foodservice, retail and club stores)
(www.kaptainsketch.com).
Nash Cohen, founder and President of HERB’S will remain involved with the business as President of the new entity. Nash stated: “I am delighted to join forces with SAVEUR FOOD GROUP in its aggressive growth plan. I have chosen to align myself with them because they bring the resources needed to accelerate our growth and take the company to the next level”.
HERB’S will now do business under a new name: NEW WAVE CUISINE. “The main objective of NEW WAVE CUISINE will be to become the leading innovator in value-added prepared seafood and fish products,” said Gary Bensley CEO of CUISINE INNOVATIONS. “We also want to expand distribution to new regions, while still maintaining the company’s strong focus on customer service,” he added. Gary Bensley will have senior management responsibilities in NEW WAVE CUISINE with Nash Cohen.
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP invests in companies in the branded premium prepared food industry, focused on the soup, hors d’oeuvres/appetizer, entree and dessert product categories. The company was founded by Paul Bensabat, formerly President & CEO of Sorrento/Lactalis, and a 28-year food industry veteran, and Alain Bankier, formerly Head of BNP/Paribas’s US Corporate Finance activity, with 25 years of investment banking experience, including a strong food industry specialty. “HERB’S is a very strong complement to CUISINE INNOVATIONS and is perfectly in line with our development strategy,” declared Paul Bensabat. “The synergies with CUISINE INNOVATIONS are excellent and will allow us to quickly expand into the fast growing premium seafood and fish processing industry,” added Alain Bankier.
October 2005
CUISINE INNOVATIONS CHOSEN AS ”REFRIGERATED AND FROZEN FOOD MAGAZINE 2005 RISING STAR COMPANY OF THE YEAR”
For full article please open this link (pdf).
December 12, 2003
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP ACQUIRES DFG FOODS FROM TYSON FOODS INC
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP, LLC announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary CUISINE INNOVATIONS, LLC, has acquired the business of DFG FOODS the hors d’oeuvres/appetizers division of TYSON FOODS INC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Chicago, DFG FOODS is the leading frozen hors d’oeuvres company in the US, with prominent brands such as COHEN’S, CASINO CHEF, BARNEY’S, and RESTAURANIC. COHEN’S, a brand in continuous retail and foodservice distribution since 1947, is also the #1 brand in the fast growing kosher segment of the hors d’oeuvres/appetizers market segment. The company distributes its products nationwide in all channels of distribution (foodservice, retail and club stores).
Neil COHEN (Executive Vice President Marketing and Sales) of DFG has partnered with SAVEUR FOOD GROUP in this acquisition, and will remain in the same positions in the new entity, CUISINE INNOVATIONS, LLC. “I am very proud to be a part of this acquisition and join forces with SAVEUR FOOD GROUP in its aggressive growth plan. The main objective of CUISINE INNOVATIONS will be, as its name indicates, to concentrate on new products and become the industry innovator, as well as take the company back to its entrepreneurial roots with a strong focus on service” declared Neil Cohen.
SAVEUR FOOD GROUP is a holding company which invests in companies in the branded premium prepared food industry, focused on the soup, hors d’oeuvres/appetizer, entree and dessert product segments. The company was founded by two partners Paul Bensabat, formerly President & CEO of Sorrento/Lactalis, and a 25-year food industry veteran and Alain Bankier, formerly Head of BNP/Paribas’s US Merger and Acquisition activity, with 25 years of investment banking experience, including a strong food industry specialty.