Stonewall Kitchen acquires apple sauce maker Vermont Village

Specialty food producer Stonewall Kitchen has announced a deal to acquire the Vermont Village brand from parent company Village Cannery of Vermont.

With roots tracing back to a local Vermonter food cooperative in the 1970s, Vermont Village specialised for many years in organic apple sauce, and more recently added a line of raw apple cider drinking vinegars. Its products are on sale in more than 10,000 stores across the US.

“Since the start of Vermont Village, our mission has always been to produce healthy, accessible food while spreading the spirit of New England,” said Joseph Sheperd, the owner of Village Cannery of Vermont.

“We can’t imagine a better company to partner with to continue growing that mission. We’re looking forward to experiencing all that’s to come for the Vermont Village brand.”

Headquartered in Maine, Stonewall Kitchen was founded in 1991 by Jonathan King and Jim Stott, who established the brand by selling jams and jellies at local farmers’ markets.

Over time, they expanded to include sauces, condiments, crackers and baking mixes. Stonewall Kitchen now owns brands including: Tillen Farms, which makes pickled vegetables and cocktail cherries; Napa Valley Naturals, a producer of olive oils, culinary oils, balsamic vinegars and wine vinegars; and Legal Sea Food, a maker of seafood sauces and condiments.

“We can’t think of a better addition to our family of brands,” said John Stiker, CEO of Stonewall Kitchen. “We have greatly admired the Vermont Village brand and its superior quality apple sauce and vinegar products, a line that is complementary to our current offerings of premium specialty foods.

“Both brands share similar values of an authentic New England heritage, simple ingredients, exciting category presence and expanding distribution. Their organic apple sauce has long been a family favourite here in New England, and their innovative and delicious sipping vinegars make it easy to get the daily health benefits of apple cider vinegar without the vinegar taste.”

He added: “Our goal is to establish a leading premium branded specialty food platform, and we believe that Vermont Village will be a critical part of realising on that vision. By leveraging our sales and marketing expertise, product development capabilities and other corporate support functions, we will drive exceptional growth of both brands while maintaining our commitment to superior quality products.”

It is expected the transaction will close in September 2019.