Ronin Equity Partners has acquired three specialty cheese companies. Red Apple Cheese offers smoked, flavored, and kosher specialty cheeses; Barron County Cheese is a major smoker and co-packer for the specialty cheese industry; and Cheese Brothers is an ecommerce specialty cheese business. The three companies will combine to become an omni-channel and vertically integrated market leader, said Ronin Equity Partners.
“We’re creating a powerful combination of ambitious companies, steeped in family-owned Wisconsin and New England traditions, and Ronin, which has the operational and market expertise in the cheese and consumer packaged goods space to turbocharge growth,” said Gene Graf, co-founder of Cheese Brothers and Barron County Cheese, in a statement.
Graf will lead operations for the new company. Cheese Brothers’ other co-founder, Eric Ludy, will lead marketing and ecommerce alongside one of Ronin’s partners, Tiffany Bell, who will step in as CFO. The group will be led by David Toy, who is joining as CEO from his previous role as chief commercial officer of Sauer Brands and Kraft Heinz, where he led the foodservice business.
“We’re incredibly excited about this partnership and felt the investment was perfect for us,” said David Feierstein, Ronin managing partner, in a statement. “We want to enable motivated, passionate founders and executives in fragmented industries, using our financial muscle and operational expertise to execute accelerated roll-ups.”
Related: Cheese Focus: What’s New in European Cheese; Toronto’s Cheese Boutique Joins Organic Garage Partner Program.
Image: Ronin Equity Partners