EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — MamaMancini’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MMMB), a marketer of specialty pre-prepared, frozen and refrigerated food products, today announced the signing of definitive agreements for two acquisitions – T&L Creative Salads, Inc. (“T&L”) and Olive Branch, LLC, which are related premier gourmet food manufacturers based in New York. Closing is expected to occur on or about December 29, 2021, subject to closing conditions.
Over several decades, brothers Anthony, Michael, and Joseph Morello have owned and operated T&L Creative Salads, offering a full line of foods for retail food chains and club stores, delis, bagel stores, caterers and distributors. T&L uses high-quality meats, seafood and vegetables, prepared to meet the standards set forth by the USDA and the FDA.
T&L sales are spearheaded by a line of chicken products, including grilled and breaded chicken breasts, chicken strips as well as a kosher salad line. T&L’s SQF level 2 state-of-the-art USDA facility in Farmingdale, New York has positioned it to expand its operations nationally into MamaMancini’s network of retailers and Club Stores. T&L actively sells its salads and prepared products to over 250 delis, bagel shops, smaller retail accounts and food distributors in the New York metropolitan area, representing over 35% of T&L’s current sales volume.
Olive Branch started operations six years ago as a separate company to concentrate on selling olives, olive mixes, and savory products to a limited number of large retail customers, primarily in pre-packaged containers. Olive Branch products are manufactured at the same facility as T&L in Farmingdale, NY.
MamaMancini’s management believes that taken together, T&L and Olive Branch are positioned to generate over $30 million in sales in calendar 2021, have the potential to drive sales of $35 million in 2022 and significantly increase MamaMancini’s net income. Management further believes that significant growth opportunities exist in leveraging the MamaMancini’s network of tier-1 distribution partners paired with the newly acquired product portfolio, which have relatively limited national distribution at this time.
MamaMancini’s will acquire T&L and Olive Branch for a combined purchase price of $14.0 million, including $11 million in cash at closing and $3 million in a four-year note to the principals of T&L. The cash payment was chiefly funded through the MamaMancini’s cash on hand and a $7.5 million long-term acquisition note from M&T Bank. Management’s analysis is that this acquisition will be substantially accretive to EBITDA and earnings in the future. Anthony Morello will remain as CEO of T&L and Olive Branch with a five-year contract.
Anthony Morello, CEO of T&L, said: “We are excited to become part of the MamaMancini’s team and believe we can rapidly expand sales as well as incorporate their best practices across both T&L and Olive Branch, helping to create value for MamaMancini’s shareholders.”
Carl Wolf, CEO of MamaMancini’s, added: “With T&L’s decidedly unique products, we believe that we can achieve a substantial increase in sales and EBITDA in the rapidly growing fresh prepared food section. We plan to quickly integrate T&L and Olive Branch into MamaMancini’s distribution network which would continue to build on our growth trajectory, leveraging established national distribution partnerships. In addition, T&L’s manufacturing facilities are available to augment MamaMancini’s production capabilities, particularly in the new ready to eat meals product line.
“This announcement marks the first step in our growth through acquisition strategy, as we advance promising candidates through our due diligence pipeline. We continue to see attractive multiples in the food space with complementary food product companies generating positive EBITDA with a product that is symbiotic to their existing distribution network. I look forward to continued shareholder value creation in the months ahead as we continue our rapid pace of operational execution,” concluded Wolf.
About MamaMancini’s Holdings, Inc.
MamaMancini’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MMMB) is a marketer and distributor of specialty prepared, refrigerated and frozen all-natural Italian foods. MamaMancini’s product portfolio consists of over 40 products including meatballs, meat loaf, chicken parmesan, sausages and pasta bowl kits, with beef, turkey, chicken and pork varieties. The Company’s products are sold in over 45,000 locations nationwide, including at well-known retailers such as Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, Publix, Costco and Albertsons, as well as through national distributors such as Sysco and United Natural Foods. The Company also regularly maintains a direct-to-consumer presence through presentations on QVC. For more information, please visit www.mamamancinis.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may,” “future,” “plan” or “planned,” “will” or “should,” “expected,” “anticipates,” “draft,” “eventually” or “projected.” You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in the Company’s 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 and other filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
