Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, a diversified specialty food company, announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Expresco Foods Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of high quality grilled protein products, including handmade specialty seasoned skewers, for customers in both the foodservice and retail channels.

Expresco, which sells its products across Canada and the U.S. under the West End brand, has annualized sales of approximately $55 million and operates out of a modern 44,000 square foot production facility located in Montreal, Quebec. It was founded in 1987 by Mr. Dennis Papakostas and, in recent years, has seen substantial growth due to its products meeting consumer demand for convenient, healthy and flavourful protein solutions that enhance and complement their daily meal, snack and salad choices.

"This transaction is another example of how we work with talented and successful entrepreneurs to create customized ownership solutions that meet their unique personal and business needs,” said Mr. George Paleologou, President and CEO. “Dennis and his long-term business partner, George Tiritidis, have done an exceptional job in building Expresco and we are honored that they have chosen us to be their partners in the next evolution of its development.

“Looking forward, we will be working with Dennis and George to accelerate Expresco’s growth through a number of capital and operational expansion initiatives including leveraging our extensive marketing and distribution infrastructures in both Canada and the US to expand its customer base, using our leading protein focused brands to increase Expresco’s presence in the deli departments of small and large retailers, and incorporating Expresco’s products into our sandwich products,” added Paleologou.

“We chose to partner with Premium Brands based on their reputation for being fair and honorable and for their history of respecting the unique cultures of the businesses they invest in,” said Papakostas. “I have no doubt that our company and our people are in good hands and that this new partnership will make Expresco into an even stronger company.”

“We are very proud of our great team, our unique culture and our reputation for producing exceptionally high quality products,” said Tiritidis. “We have no doubt that the cultures of our respective companies will be a perfect fit since we share the same core values.”

This July, Premium Brands announced the acquisition of Isernio’s, a sausage manufacturer based in Ferndale, Wash.

Source: Premium Brands Holdings Corp.