Annie's Homegrown

Last updated
Annie's, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry Organic products
Founded1989;35 years ago (1989)
Hampton, Connecticut, U.S.
Founder
Headquarters Berkeley, California, U.S.
Area served
United States
Canada
Key people
Annie Withey
Products Macaroni and cheese, soup, pasta, salad dressing, crackers, fruit snacks, snack mix, frozen pizza bites, waffles, breakfast cereal, cheese puffs, snack bars, graham crackers, pancakes, ice pops, cookies, barbecue sauce, mustard, ketchup
Owner General Mills
Website www.annies.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Annie's Homegrown (or simply Annie's) is an American organic food company owned by General Mills. The company was founded in Hampton, Connecticut by Annie Withey and Andrew Martin, who had previously founded Smartfood popcorn along with Ken Meyers. It is best known for its macaroni and cheese product line, which comes in shell form and rabbit shapes, and is the second best selling macaroni and cheese in the United States behind Kraft. [1] Their mascot is a rabbit named Bernie, who appears in the seal of approval called the "Rabbit of Approval" [2] and another slogan called "Bunny of Approval" in 2020. The company also produces Annie's Naturals, which consists of condiments, dressings, and barbecue sauces.

Contents

History

Annie Withey [3] co-founded Annie's Homegrown with Andrew Martin in 1989. Initially, the company only sold "natural" macaroni and cheese in New England supermarkets.

In 1995, Annie's completed a direct public offering that raised $1.3 million. [4]

In 1999, John Foraker, an owner of Homegrown Natural Foods, which made flavored olive oils and mustards, and his company invested $2 million in Annie's. [4] An agreement was reached that would buy out Withey and Martin's shares in the company and make Annie's a private company. [4] Withey became Annie's "inspirational president", and the company began distributing its products to chains like Costco, Kroger, and Safeway. [4]

In 2002, Solera Capital became the majority investor in the company with $23 million. They also added Foraker's company Homegrown Naturals (including brands Consorzio and Fantastic Foods) to the business and moved Annie's headquarters from Boston to Napa, California, in 2004. Later in 2011, Annie's headquarters relocated from Napa to Berkeley, California. [4]

In 2005, the company bought out Annie's Naturals, a (sometimes) organic salad dressing and condiment company founded by Annie Christopher of North Calais, Vermont. [4]

The majority of Annie's stock was owned by Solera Capital, LLC. [1] In December 2011, Annie's filed with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. [5]

In January 2012, Annie's announced the introduction of a certified organic rising crust frozen pizza line. Annie's certified organic pizza line is exclusive to Whole Foods Market.[ citation needed ]

On April 3, 2014, Annie's opened their first bakery manufacturing plant, purchased from Safeway Inc. for $7.4 million and located in Joplin, Missouri. [6]

General Mills acquired Annie's on September 8, 2014, for $820 million. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of the Midwestern United States</span> Regional cuisine of the United States

The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Mills</span> American multinational food corporation

General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company originally gained fame for being a large flour miller. Today, the company markets many well-known North American brands, including Gold Medal flour, Annie's Homegrown, Lärabar, Cascadian Farm, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Totino's, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Häagen-Dazs, as well as breakfast cereals under the General Mills name, including Cheerios, Wheaties, Chex, Lucky Charms, Trix, Cocoa Puffs and Count Chocula and the other monster cereals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranch dressing</span> Style of salad dressing

Ranch dressing is a savory, creamy American salad dressing usually made from buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, mustard, herbs, and spices mixed into a sauce based on mayonnaise or another oil emulsion. Sour cream and yogurt are sometimes used in addition to, or as a substitute for, buttermilk and mayonnaise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safeway</span> American supermarket chain owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops and fuel centers. It is a subsidiary of Albertsons after being acquired by private equity investors led by Cerberus Capital Management in January 2015. Safeway's primary base of operations is in the Western United States with some stores located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern Seaboard. The subsidiary is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Canada

Canadian cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices of Canada, with regional variances around the country. First Nations and Inuit have practiced their culinary traditions in what is now Canada for at least 15,000 years. The advent of European explorers and settlers, first on the east coast and then throughout the wider territories of New France, British North America and Canada, saw the melding of foreign recipes, cooking techniques, and ingredients with indigenous flora and fauna. Modern Canadian cuisine has maintained this dedication to local ingredients and terroir, as exemplified in the naming of specific ingredients based on their locale, such as Malpeque oysters or Alberta beef. Accordingly, Canadian cuisine privileges the quality of ingredients and regionality, and may be broadly defined as a national tradition of "creole" culinary practices, based on the complex multicultural and geographically diverse nature of both historical and contemporary Canadian society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orkla ASA</span> Norwegian consumer good conglomerate

Orkla ASA is a Norwegian conglomerate operating in Europe, Asia and the US. At present, Orkla operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions and financial investment sectors. Orkla ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its head office is in Oslo, Norway. As of 31 December 2021, Orkla had 21,423 employees. The Group's turnover in 2021 totalled NOK 50.4 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavilions (supermarket)</span> American supermarket chain in Southern California owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Pavilions is a grocery store banner used by Vons, a supermarket division of Albertsons in Southern California. Although similar to Vons stores, Pavilions markets are more upscale and feature a larger selection of organic food, wine, and other specialty foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smartfood</span> American popcorn brand

Smartfood, an American brand of pre-popped, flavored popcorn, was founded in 1984 by Annie Withey, Andrew Martin, and Ken Meyers in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Frito-Lay purchased Smartfood in 1989 for $15 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randalls</span> American supermarket chain in Texas owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Randalls operates 32 supermarkets in Texas under the Randalls and Flagship Randalls banners. The chain consists of 13 stores located around the Houston area and 15 stores located around the Austin area as of May 2020. Randalls today forms the nucleus of the current Houston division of Albertsons and is headquartered in the Westchase district of Houston. The office served as the headquarters of the independent Randalls company before its takeover and later the Texas division of Safeway. The Randalls distribution center was near Cypress, Texas, and now is serviced by the Tom Thumb distribution in Roanoke, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of New Jersey</span> Cuisine of the State of New Jersey

The cuisine of New Jersey is derived from the state's long immigrant history and its close proximity to both New York City and Philadelphia. Due to its geographical location, New Jersey can generally be divided by New York City cuisine in the northern and central parts of the state and Philadelphia cuisine in the southern parts. Restaurants in the state often make use of locally grown ingredients such as asparagus, blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes, corn, and peaches. New Jersey is particularly known for its diners, of which there are approximately 525, the most of any state. Various foods invented in the state, such as the pork roll, and salt water taffy, remain popular there today.

Annie's or Annies may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Michigan</span> Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

The cuisine of Michigan is part of the broader regional cuisine of the Midwestern United States. It is reflective of the diverse food history of settlement and immigration in the state, and draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Native North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richelieu Foods</span> American food manufacturing company

Richelieu Foods is a private label food manufacturing company founded in 1862, headquartered in Wheeling, IL. It was previously owned by investment group Brynwood Partners and owned from 2010 by investment group Centerview Partners LLC and sold December 2017 to Freiberger USA Inc., Parsippany, New Jersey, USA, a subsidiary of the German Südzucker AG

Looney Tunes Meals were a line of frozen dinners released by Tyson Foods in 1990. They were based on the characters from the eponymous Warner Bros. cartoons and targeted primarily at children. The meals were discontinued in late 1993 because of declining sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kraft Heinz</span> American multinational food company

The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Company co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverage company in North America and the fifth-largest in the world with over $26.0 billion in annual sales as of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Kensington's</span> American food brand owned by Unilever

Sir Kensington's is an American food company with headquarters in New York City, New York. It was founded by Mark Ramadan, Scott Norton, Brandon Child, and Win Bennett. The company produces Non-GMO Project Verified condiments including ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and "Fabanaise", a vegan mayo whose name is a portmanteau of the substitute ingredient aquafaba and mayonnaise which it mimics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B&G Foods</span> American branded foods holding company

B&G Foods, Inc. is an American branded foods holding company based in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company was formed in 1996 to acquire Bloch & Guggenheimer, a Manhattan-based producer of pickles, relish and condiments which had been founded in 1889.

Ann E. "Annie" Withey is an American farmer and entrepreneur. Withey developed Smartfood in 1984 and Annie's Homegrown in 1989, both with her husband at the time, Andrew Martin.

References

  1. 1 2 "Annie's Homegrown, Inc". fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  2. "Our History". Annie's. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  3. "Annie's Founder: Still Farming, Annie's Founder Stays Close To Roots As Company Wows Wall Street - Hartford Courant". Articles.courant.com. 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Casserly, Meghan (October 28, 2013). "The Homegrown Success (And Mild Indigestion) Of Annie's Natural Foods". Forbes .
  5. "Annie's Announces Filing of Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering". Annie's. 5 December 2011. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012.
  6. Kennedy, Wally. "Annie's Homegrown lauds addition of Joplin bakery". Joplin Globe. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  7. General Mills buys Annie's for $820 million

Further reading