Foxy Foods to merge into Taylor Fresh Foods
Foxy Foods to merge into Taylor Fresh Foods
Two Salinas, CA-based companies -- Foxy Foods LLC and Taylor Fresh Foods Inc. -- announced that they have agreed to merge Foxy Foods fresh produce processing operations into Taylor Fresh Foods.
The merger will add Foxy Foods' team of people, its innovative fresh-cut vegetable product line and its customer partners in the retail and club store markets to Taylors North American salad and fresh-cut vegetable processing network.
After the transaction is completed, the Foxy Foods team will continue to operate out of its Gonzales, CA, facility and continue to be led by Nicholas DaCosta. They will continue to focus on introducing new products that attract new customers to the fresh-cut vegetable category.
Foxy Foods LLC majority owners -- Nunes Vegetables Inc. -- and some of its growers will become Taylor shareholders. Nunes Vegetables Inc. will continue as an independent operation growing "Foxy" brand commodity vegetables for the Nunes Co. Inc. Nunes Vegetables was the farming arm to the parent company -- Nunes Co. -- which handles sales and marketing.
"We are still involved in the value-added business," said Tom Nunes Jr., president of Foxy Foods. We had a vested interest that Taylor Farms will grow."
Mr. Nunes said that he and Bruce Taylor, chairman and chief executive officer of Taylor Fresh Foods, have been talking about the possibility of a merger since December. The merger is expected to take anywhere from 60 to 90 days to complete, Mr. Nunes said.
Feedback from Foxy Foods customers on the merger has been "surprisingly positive," Mr. Nunes said. Taylor Farms system of regional facilities will help fill shorts and Foxy Foods customers are responding well to that, he said.
"It's all about helping both companies," Mr. Nunes said.
Mr. Taylor said in a statement that Foxy Foods has developed proprietary fresh-cut vegetable packaging, innovative new products and key relationships in the retail marketplace.
Foxy can utilize our regional plant network to enhance product freshness and offer next- day service, Mr. Taylor said. Our companies have similar values and a strong sense of community. We both have a long history of farming in the Salinas Valley and we are both committed to offering safe, wholesome and innovative products to our consumers.
Mr. Nunes said that Nunes Co. has great respect for [Taylors] leadership in vegetable processing, particularly in foodservice and retail deli segments and that he believes the operations complement each other. He further added that the combination is good for the Salinas Valley.
Taylor Fresh Foods Inc. -- through its Taylor Farms operating companies -- supplies salads and fresh-cut vegetables to leading foodservice, retail and club store customers in North America. Taylor has fresh-cut processing operations in Salinas, Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Maryland and Guanajuato, Mexico.
Foxy Foods was founded in 2000 by Nunes Vegetables Inc. and its key growers. It operates out of a 58,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Gonzales, CA, and supplies fresh-cut produce and vegetable platters primarily to retail accounts. Foxy Foods is known for its innovative packaging and new product development.
Foxy Foods employs about 200 people and no jobs will be eliminated as part of the merger. Nunes said the deal might actually lead to more jobs.
The merger will add Foxy Foods' team of people, its innovative fresh-cut vegetable product line and its customer partners in the retail and club store markets to Taylors North American salad and fresh-cut vegetable processing network.
After the transaction is completed, the Foxy Foods team will continue to operate out of its Gonzales, CA, facility and continue to be led by Nicholas DaCosta. They will continue to focus on introducing new products that attract new customers to the fresh-cut vegetable category.
Foxy Foods LLC majority owners -- Nunes Vegetables Inc. -- and some of its growers will become Taylor shareholders. Nunes Vegetables Inc. will continue as an independent operation growing "Foxy" brand commodity vegetables for the Nunes Co. Inc. Nunes Vegetables was the farming arm to the parent company -- Nunes Co. -- which handles sales and marketing.
"We are still involved in the value-added business," said Tom Nunes Jr., president of Foxy Foods. We had a vested interest that Taylor Farms will grow."
Mr. Nunes said that he and Bruce Taylor, chairman and chief executive officer of Taylor Fresh Foods, have been talking about the possibility of a merger since December. The merger is expected to take anywhere from 60 to 90 days to complete, Mr. Nunes said.
Feedback from Foxy Foods customers on the merger has been "surprisingly positive," Mr. Nunes said. Taylor Farms system of regional facilities will help fill shorts and Foxy Foods customers are responding well to that, he said.
"It's all about helping both companies," Mr. Nunes said.
Mr. Taylor said in a statement that Foxy Foods has developed proprietary fresh-cut vegetable packaging, innovative new products and key relationships in the retail marketplace.
Foxy can utilize our regional plant network to enhance product freshness and offer next- day service, Mr. Taylor said. Our companies have similar values and a strong sense of community. We both have a long history of farming in the Salinas Valley and we are both committed to offering safe, wholesome and innovative products to our consumers.
Mr. Nunes said that Nunes Co. has great respect for [Taylors] leadership in vegetable processing, particularly in foodservice and retail deli segments and that he believes the operations complement each other. He further added that the combination is good for the Salinas Valley.
Taylor Fresh Foods Inc. -- through its Taylor Farms operating companies -- supplies salads and fresh-cut vegetables to leading foodservice, retail and club store customers in North America. Taylor has fresh-cut processing operations in Salinas, Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Maryland and Guanajuato, Mexico.
Foxy Foods was founded in 2000 by Nunes Vegetables Inc. and its key growers. It operates out of a 58,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Gonzales, CA, and supplies fresh-cut produce and vegetable platters primarily to retail accounts. Foxy Foods is known for its innovative packaging and new product development.
Foxy Foods employs about 200 people and no jobs will be eliminated as part of the merger. Nunes said the deal might actually lead to more jobs.
