Casual-dining chain’s focus on franchising growth leads to sale of retail product line
Uno Restaurants’ focus on expansion has led to the sale of its Uno Foods division to Great Kitchens Food Company, a Brynwood Partners portfolio company. For the retail sector, Uno Foods makes frozen pizza in the style of its well-known Pizzeria Uno deep dish pizza and calzones. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Uno Foods produces its pizzas and calzones in Brockton, Mass. Its products sell in several channels with various distribution points: supermarkets, club stores, and additional retailer outlets.
Lately, executives at Uno Restaurants have shifted their attention to the expansion of its franchise business. Working with hotels, the company has devised a conversion plan to develop existing space into Pizzeria Uno restaurant locations. Its strategy to concentrate on franchising via this model contributed enormously to the sale of Uno Foods to Great Kitchens.
In 2022, Uno opened five new franchise locations. It also plans to develop another 10 to 15 units in 2023, according to Erik Frederick, chief executive of Uno Restaurants.
“We are excited to bring Uno Restaurants’ premium pizzas to more communities in the future and are confident Great Kitchens Food Company is the right partner to enhance our strong brand awareness across the country,” he added.
Twin Haven Capital Partners sold Uno Restaurants to Newport Global Advisors in May 2017.
Chicago-based Great Kitchens manufactures take-and-bake pizzas and flatbreads across the United States. According to a statement, high-quality grocery stores, club stores, and mass retailers distribute its products.
Henk Hartong, chairman and chief executive of Brynwood, commented, “On behalf of everyone at Brynwood Partners, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Newport team for being such great partners to us on this transaction. In conjunction with this transaction, we are pleased to announce that we have promoted Admir Basic to the role of president and CEO of Great Kitchens. We have tremendous confidence in Admir as he will continue to lead Great Kitchens and oversee the integration of Uno Foods.”
Brynwood Partners’ portfolio includes Harvest Hill Beverage Company, Carolina Beverage Group, Hometown Food Company, Buitoni Food Company, and Great Kitchens Food Company. With the acquisition of Uno Foods, the private equity firm focused on middle-market companies grows its manufacturing network to 16 facilities, more than 4,500 employees and annual sales of approximately $2.5B.
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