Mama’s Creations, Inc., a leading national marketer and manufacturer of fresh deli prepared foods, has acquired substantially all of the assets of Crown I Enterprises Inc., a full-service manufacturer of value-added proteins and ready-to-eat meals and wholly owned subsidiary of Sysco Corporation, for $17.5 million.

Crown brings approximately $56 million in profitable annual revenue to Mama’s Creations based on results for the fiscal year ended June 28, increasing the company’s sales base by nearly 40% and significantly broadening its customer reach into strategic new accounts. It primarily serves ‘hard to break into’ premium retail partners who are not current Mama’s customers – complementing the company’s existing roster and opening new channels for potential growth.

The acquisition also adds new strategic capabilities such as a recently upgraded and expanded 42,000-square-foot USDA-certified production facility in Bay Shore, New York – complete with significant incremental grill capacity on equipment Mama already runs – along with approximately 200 employees, which will expand Mama’s Creations’ production capacity and create enhanced bench strength for management. Proximity to the company’s existing Farmingdale location, about 10 miles away, provides for production and warehousing efficiency in addition to management synergies.

Bringing Crown into the Mama’s family will allow best practice sharing, scale efficiencies and new opportunities to enhance operational and SG&A execution – which should ultimately allow Mama’s to deliver better service for customers, tastier products for consumers and improved financial performance.

“Having watched and competed against Crown since the Creative Salads acquisition, we have always respected their Grandma Quality principles, reinforcing our quality promise while expanding our operational capabilities, and we are excited to welcome them to the Mama’s family,” said Adam L. Michaels, chairman and CEO of Mama’s Creations. “We believe we can increase Crown’s gross margins over time closer to our current levels through operational efficiencies and joint protein purchasing through our expanded supply chain, while more efficiently managing labor, machinery and logistics. Taken together, we believe this is a highly complementary acquisition at an attractive 0.3x revenue multiple that will move us toward our 2030 vision of becoming the next $1 billion deli solutions provider. This also continues to validate our M&A strategy of acting as a consolidator in the space – first with Creative Salads & Olive Branch, then with Chef Inspirational Foods, and now with Crown – we are able to find incremental and accretive businesses at very attractive multiples, to accelerate and build our capabilities.”

In addition to potential cost savings, the deal is expected to unlock new revenue opportunities through cross-selling. Mama’s Creations plans to cross-sell its existing product lines to Crown’s customers (and vice versa) to drive incremental sales and increase Mama’s average items carried across a broader retail footprint. 

About Mama’s Creations, Inc.
Mama’s Creations, Inc. is a leading marketer and manufacturer of fresh deli prepared foods, found in over 12,000 grocery, mass, club and convenience stores nationally. The Company’s broad product portfolio, born from MamaMancini’s rich history in Italian foods, now consists of a variety of high quality, fresh, clean and easy to prepare foods to address the needs of both our consumers and retailers. Our vision is to become a one-stop-shop deli solutions platform, leveraging vertical integration and a diverse family of brands to offer a wide array of prepared foods to meet the changing demands of the modern consumer.