Sanders candy and Kar's Nuts snacks owners acquire a cookie brand

Second Nature Brands, parent company of the iconic Sanders Candy and Kar's Nuts brands, announced on Tuesday the Madison Heights-based company is acquiring a cookie brand from J.M. Smucker Co.

In a $305 million all-cash transaction, Second Nature Brands is acquiring, per a news release, the Voortman cookie brand, notable for its sliced almond-studded Windmill cookies, from Orrville, Ohio-based J.M. Smucker.

"This strategic and transformative acquisition fits perfectly into our better snacking and treating portfolio of brands, " Victor Mehren, CEO of Second Nature Brands, said in a news release. "The acquisition of Voortman broadens our scale within the cookie category and unlocks new opportunities and capabilities for future growth in the U.S. and Canada.”

Voortman is known for its varieties of cookies including zero-sugar cookies, 25 percent less sugar cookies, and wafer cookies sold in the U. S. and Canada under the Voortman Bakery brand. The deal includes all Voortman trademarks and a leased manufacturing facility in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Transitioning with the acquisition is about 300 employees, according to a news release.

Second Nature Brands said acquiring the Voortman brand is a significant addition to its portfolio, bringing it to a combined annual sales of more than $500 million.

In 2022, London-based private equity CapVest Partners acquired Second Nature Brands. The company’s lineup includes Kar's Nuts known for its trail mix, Sanders Candy, famed for its Bumpy Cake and fudge toppings and Second Nature Snacks, a line of non-GMO-verified premium snack mixes. In 2018 Kar's Nuts bought Sanders, merging the two iconic metro Detroit food brands.

The Voortman's acquisition follows Second Nature Brands acquiring Seattle-based Sahale Snacks, makers of premium nuts and fruit snack mixes, more than a year ago from the J.M. Smucker Co., in a $34 million deal. Second Nature Brands at the end of 2022 acquired Brownie Brittle, a crispy brownie snack line.

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Selling the Voortman brand, Mark Smucker, J.M. Smucker Chair of the Board, President and CEO, said in a news release, allows the company to focus on its largest growth opportunities including its Hostess brand.

"The divestiture of the Voortman brand is an important step in our integration plans that will enable the execution of our Sweet Baked Snacks strategy through dedicated focus and ongoing investments in the Hostess brand, advancing our leadership in the sweet baked goods category," he said.

In 2024, net sales for the Voortman brand were about $65 million for a partial J.M. Smucker fiscal year. For its current fiscal year, Smucker’s anticipates full-year net sales from the Voortman brand to be about $150 million.The sale of the Voortman brand to Second Nature Brands is expected to close by next April.

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