USA – Conagra Brands has completed the divestiture of the portion of its snacks business that operates under a Direct-Store-Delivery (DSD) snack business to Utz Quality Foods for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction included the sale of its Tim’s Cascade Snacks, Hawaiian Snacks, Erin’s, El Restaurante, Snyder of Berlin, Pop-N-Thin and Husman’s. The deal was initially announced in September this year.

Conagra Brands acquired the business last year as part of the US$10.9 billion acquisition of Pinnacle Foods.

The snacks food brands were part of the Pinnacle Specialty Foods segment, which had annual sales of US$325 million in 2017, and included other products that were not a part of the Utz acquisition.

While Conagra said the brands have more opportunity for growth under Utz, an established DSD operator, the company maintained that snacking will continue to be a critical part of its overall growth strategy.

Following the transaction, Conagra Brands has a US$2 billion snacking portfolio, with both large, iconic brands and fast-growing, emerging brands across meat snacks, seeds, popcorn, sweet treat and specialty categories.

To accelerate development of contemporary, on-trend products its Conagra Brands has unveiled plans of establishing a new US innovation.

Utz is an American salty snack company producing a full line of products including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, corn chips, tortillas, veggie stix/straws, popcorn, onion rings and pork skins.

Based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Utz operates eleven manufacturing facilities and distributes its products under the brands Utz, Golden Flake, Zapp’s, and Boulder and Canyon among others both nationally and internationally.

Utz said that the addition of Conagra’s DSD snack business to its portfolio, their distribution and manufacturing capabilities along with their customer relationships will enhance its ability to further grow its brand portfolio further west.

The deal marks the latest divestiture by Conagra Brands after it agreed to sell its Italian-based frozen pasta business, Gelit.