One of the largest manufacturers of French fries in the US, Lamb Weston, has acquired Australian frozen potato-based product manufacturer and supplier Crackerjack Foods. It’s the third acquisition by Lamb Weston’s Australia business in five years.
Crackerjack Foods was founded by Bill Fotiadis and Patty Soublis in 2015. Fotiadis will remain CEO for six to 12 months. The company supplies 150 customers either directly or indirectly through independent retailers, food service, distributors, quick service restaurants, direct public outlets, and some export.
Fotiadis said, “We have built Crackerjack Foods to where it is today through high quality product and reliability, innovation and improvement, and of course, our people.
“It was always important to us that the new owners of Crackerjack Foods would not only be in a position to move the business forward but would continue to deliver on the promises our customers now expect.”
All employees will join Lamb Weston.
Lamb Weston VP and GM Oceania, Simone Anderson, said Crackerjack was a “great fit” for the company, with a strong established customer base in food distribution and being “synonymous with potato cakes and battered snacks”.
“Crackerjack Foods provides another avenue for our potatoes, adds value to our existing product offering, and enhances our processing capacity and capability,” Anderson said.
Lamb Weston Australia’s brands are Harvest Choice, Marvel, and Farmers Best. In 2018, Lamb Weston acquired Marvel Packers, a frozen fries manufacturer, which have been processing potatoes since 1929.
The following year it bought Ready Meals and its operating frozen potato processing and storage facilities in Hallam, Victoria. It sold frozen potato products under the Harvest Choice brand.
Crackerjack Foods has two processing lines, one in Keilor and a new, highly automated purpose-built facility for in-line frying of battered products in Campbellfield, Victoria. which opened in 2020.
The Crackerjack warehousing and processing facility has been designed to ensure the cold chain is kept completely intact. It is comprised of a 950 square metre refrigerated processing area with the capability of processing 50-60 tonnes of product per day, specifically designed state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery, and combined 800 pallet freezer and refrigerated storage.
“It offers us a new range of products that complement our current portfolio and increases the options available to existing and new customers. We’re thrilled to strengthen our business here in Australia, drive further growth and innovation, and create more value for our employees, growers, customers, and stakeholders,” Anderson said.
The company has more that 7000 employees with operations in the North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America.
