Rich’s grows portfolio

Advertisement Rich Products Corp. has announced three recent additions to its United States-Canada portfolio: the acquisition of Goglanian Bakeries Inc. and f'real® foods LLC, as well as the establishment of a joint venture, Twin Star Bakery, with the Stolbun Group. These moves will expand Rich's product offering and establish inroads into new markets, such as convenience stores. The acquisition of family-owned Goglanian Bakeries will significantly expand Rich's current pizza offering with par-baked pizza crusts, flatbreads and pitas. Goglanian also has a significant manufacturing network with facilities in Santa Ana, Calif., Fountain Inn, S.C., and Rochester, N.Y., as well as a state-of-the-art facility outside Chicago, Ill., which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2013. The addition of f'real foods, Orinda, Calif, provides Rich's with a new product line and greater penetration into the convenience store segment. Founded in 1995, f'real sells milkshakes, smoothies and frozen coffee beverages, along with patented blending equipment, to more than 9,000 convenience store and foodservice locations across the United States and Canada. The company will be managed as a separate subsidiary business. Twin Star Bakery is a new joint venture partnership between Rich's and the Stolbun Group, led by Sam Stolbun, who previously owned Camelot Desserts. Twin Star recently opened a state-of-the-art dessert manufacturing facility near Houston, Texas, that produces fully finished cakes, and baked and iced cookies. The Stolbun Group will manage Twin Star's research and development and production, while Rich's will oversee product marketing and sales, primarily through its in-store bakery division. "The acquisitions of Goglanian Bakeries and f'real foods, and establishment of our Twin Star joint venture, are consistent with our ongoing commitment to shape and reshape our diverse portfolio to keep Rich's focused on a path of long-term growth," Bill Gisel, Rich's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.