WAUKEGAN, Ill. — Woodland Foods, LTD and Graham Partners, Inc. today announced that Graham Partners has become a majority investor in Woodland Foods.
Woodland Foods is an established leader in supplying specialty food ingredients and innovative culinary products to the food service, industrial, and retail sectors for over 30 years. “Diana and I are extremely proud of the one-of-a-kind resource we’ve built, inspiring culinary professionals across the U.S., while experiencing consistent growth throughout the years,” said David Moore, founder of Woodland Foods. “Graham Partners brings extensive experience working across the food industry and will provide strong support to accelerate Woodland Foods’ significant growth.”
“Woodland Foods provides Graham Partners with a unique opportunity to invest in a company with a well-established supply chain across five continents and long-term relationships with marquee customers across all channels of the food business,” stated Andrew Snyder, Managing Principal at Graham Partners. “We share a commitment to service, quality, safety, and a spirit of innovation that are embodied by Woodland Foods and its tenured staff and believe that together we will elevate our position as thought leaders, fueling multiple trends in the world of food, while growing substantially in the years to come.”
Woodland Foods’ management team and staff will remain in place and expect a seamless integration.
Lincoln International acted as the financial advisor to Woodland Foods and Vedder Price P.C. served as the legal advisor to Woodland Foods in this transaction.
About Woodland Foods
Woodland Foods is a premier importer and manufacturer of over 1,800 specialty culinary ingredients and products from over 65 countries around the world. Woodland Foods sells under the brand DG (D’allesandro Gourmet) in the food service channel, under Curious Spoon and Epicurean Specialty in the retail channel, and under Woodland Ingredients in the industrial manufacturing channel. Woodland Foods specializes in providing a one-stop-shop resource for globally sourced specialty culinary ingredients and products, a robust product innovation platform as well as custom blending, processing, and packing.
About Graham Partners
Graham Partners is a private investment firm focused on investing in technology-driven companies that are spurring innovation in advanced manufacturing, resulting in product substitutions, raw materials conversions, and disruptions to traditional end markets. Graham Partners can offer control or minority capital solutions and typically targets companies with EBITDA up to $50 million. Since the firm’s founding in 1988 by Steven Graham, Graham Partners has closed over 130 acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, and divestitures. The committed capital raised since inception through the Graham Partners funds together with Graham-led co-investments totals approximately $3.5 billion, which differs from Regulatory Assets Under Management. Investors include high-net-worth individuals, college and university endowments, foundations, public and private pension plans, funds-of-funds, and other institutional investors. Based in suburban Philadelphia, the firm has access to extensive operating resources and industrial expertise and is a member of The Graham Group, an alliance of independent operating businesses, investment firms and philanthropic entities, which all share in the common legacy of entrepreneur Donald Graham.
