Campbell Soup Company Buys Ferndale-Based Garden Fresh Gourmet For $231 Million

FERNDALE (WWJ) - Ferndale-based Garden Fresh Gourmet -- known for its salsa, chips and hummus -- is being bought by Campbell Soup Company for $231 million.

Garden Fresh was started by Jack and Annette Aronson in 1997. The couple made their first batch of salsa in a five-gallon bucket in the back of their restaurant and eventually started to package it for stores at the request of a local upscale grocer. The company has over 450 employees, and that number could even grow under Campbell's ownership.

Jack Aronson, who will stay on as an adviser to the business, said he believes Campbell is the right company to take Garden Fresh Gourmet to the next level and introduce the products to customers across the U.S.

Garden Fresh Gourmet will become part of the Campbell Fresh division, which focus on building the company's scale and accelerating growth in rapidly expanding packaged fresh categories in retail stores.

Garden Fresh Gourmet will continue to operate out of Ferndale and will be led by Todd Putman, General Manager–Garden Fresh, within the Campbell Fresh division.

Jeff Dunn, president of Campbell Fresh, said the Garden Fresh Gourmet products will allow Campbell's to expand their selection of products in grocery store deli sections.

"Garden Fresh Gourmet is an American success story, whose leadership has built a vibrant brand with a loyal following in faster-growing categories like refrigerated salsas and hummus," Dunn said in a statement. We will leverage our packaged fresh production and distribution, sales and brand-building capabilities to help Garden Fresh Gourmet become a national brand."

Garden Fresh reported sales of $110 million last year.

The deal is expected to close in this fiscal year's fourth quarter.