Once the cash-and-stock deal passes regulatory muster, Alpine Valley’s lineup of organic and “natural” bread will fall under the same company banner as products like Wonder Bread and Tastykake pastries, foods that no one would mistake for being organic.
“Alpine Valley Bread Company will further strengthen our company,” said Allen L. Shiver, Flowers’ president and chief executive officer in a press release. “With its extensive portfolio of on-trend organic products, Alpine Valley has a deeply rooted culture of excellence, service, and commitment. We are especially pleased to welcome Alpine’s team members who will bring expertise in the development, production, and delivery of organic breads to Flowers.”
If you’re worried about your favorite bread changing now that its in the hands of Flowers, you probably shouldn’t be — new corporate overlords usually leave current leaders in place at their new acquisitions instead of absorbing them into the corporate fold.
That’s because while a merger might technically merge two companies, customers don’t want major changes to brands they already buy and like, and the major food producers know this. So they’re likely to leave new brands to keep doing what they did before, which is usually the reason they’re attracted to them in the first place, instead of risking scaring off loyal customers of the brand.
Previously in big food companies buying up organic brands: Campbell Soup Goes Grocery Shopping, Spends $231M On Salsa; Hormel Gobbling Up Applegate Farms For $775M; General Mills Acquires Annie’s Homegrown Foods, Bunny Mascots
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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