Private equity firm Swander Pace Capital has acquired Passport Food Group, a manufacturer and distributor of globally-flavored foods to foodservice and retail sectors in North America.
Passport Food Group (Passport), was previously owned by Wedbush Capital Partners. Passport offers more than 125 authentic, boldly flavored SKUs to national restaurants and retailer chains around the country.
Passport’s customers include Applebee’s, P.F. Chang’s, Panda Express, Cheesecake Factory, and Houlihan’s. Foodservice products are sold under the Wing Hing and House of Bee brands.
Heather Smith Thorne, managing director at Swander Pace Capital said: “Passport has established itself as an industry leader in high quality, on-trend, innovative cuisines.
“With consumers increasingly looking for creatively flavored, high quality foodservice and retail products, Passport is well-positioned to leverage these trends and drive growth through a continued commitment to innovation, new products, and best-in-class manufacturing.”
Passport’s partnership approach is product development that encourages customers to collaborate with their R&D personnel throughout the process. Recent on-trend product launches by Passport include USDA certified organic appetizers, specialty noodles, wraps, and crisps.
Mark Poff, managing director at Swander Pace Capital said: “We are proud to partner with Passport Food Group, a highly-respected company and industry leader with world-class products and a growing customer base.
“We look forward to working with the Passport management team to drive growth through continued R&D and new product development, expansion of retail and club relationships, and operational performance improvements."
John Signorino, CEO of Passport Food Group said: “For decades, Passport has provided our foodservice, food manufacturing and retail customers with high quality food products.
Consumer trends dictate an increased demand for innovative, global flavored, clean label products. Swander Pace Capital, with its strong track record of building and growing world class food companies, is the ideal partner for helping us capitalize on these trends and strengthen our position as the category leader in high quality globally-flavored foods."
