Crown Bakeries (“Crown”), a leading manufacturer of fresh and frozen breads, baked goods, and dough products, announced today the acquisition of Bagel Boy, Inc. (“Bagel Boy” or the “Company”). Founded in 1992, Bagel Boy is the largest manufacturer of premium, New York-style bagels in New England. With a reputation for high-quality and innovative products in bagels, flatbreads, pitas and sandwich thins, the Company is a key baking partner for leading grocery retailers and consumer brands. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Bagel Boy will continue to operate out of its existing manufacturing facility in Lawrence, Massachusetts and Founder Chuck Bouchrouche will remain at the helm of the organization as its General Manager.
“Bagel Boy has thrived under Chuck’s leadership, and we’re excited to welcome the team in Lawrence to the Crown family as we continue to expand our footprint in the Northeast,” said Yianny Caparos, President of Crown Bakeries. “Breakfast is the fastest growing daypart in the United States and bagel sales are growing nearly three-times as fast as the broader baked goods category. By adding Bagel Boy’s outstanding products to our existing portfolio, including croissants, biscuits, and English muffins, as well as our extensive sweet goods capabilities, we further enhance Crown’s position as the preferred one-stop-shop baker in the industry.”
Commenting on the partnership, Bouchrouche stated, “Crown’s reputation, industry expertise, resources and approach made them the right choice to partner with as we enter our next growth phase. By joining the Crown family, we can leverage the combined scale of our businesses and offer a more comprehensive portfolio of high-quality baked goods to our deeply valued customers.”
Crown Bakeries is owned by Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm that focuses exclusively on acquiring premier companies in food, beverage, and related industries. Arbor announced the recapitalization of Crown Bakeries (formerly The Bakery Companies) with founder and CEO Cordia Harrington in October 2019 and has made significant investments to grow the business both organically and through acquisitions.
“The Bagel Boy transaction marks the fourth add-on to the Crown portfolio in the last 15 months, giving the organization over 1,000 employees, serving customers across all channels – in retail, as a co-manufacturing partner for brands, as well as in foodservice,” said Chris Tuffin, Partner at Arbor. “We are thrilled not only to have grown our team and further expanded our product offering, but now boast eight facilities with presence up-and-down the Eastern seaboard, establishing Crown as the preeminent baking partner for customers in North America.”
In connection with the transaction, Winston & Strawn served as Arbor and Crown’s legal counsel and Alantra served as Bagel Boy’s exclusive financial advisor.