Private-label food manufacturing has a new contender with the debut of Keep It Real Foods, LLC, a CIC Partners-backed platform that further expands both the private-label landscape and private equity’s role in the category.
The launch comes about two weeks after UK-based private equity firm Investindustrial announced its acquisition of TreeHouse Foods, the largest private-label food and beverage manufacturer in the US, in a $2.9 billion deal that takes the company private.
The two announcements follow another private-equity led private-label deal from late January: the sale of Greenwich, Conn.-based Brynwood Partners VIII LP, which sold its Great Kitchens Food Company to Rich Products Corp. for an undisclosed amount.
Private-label’s new player
Keep It Real Foods brings together five food companies – Oakhouse Bakery, MaGi Foods, Small Batch Organics, RIND Snacks and Whirlybird Granola – to offer a contract manufacturing platform for retailers running their own store brands, legacy CPG companies and high-growth brands, the new company said.
It specializes in “protein-forward, fiber-rich and reduced-sugar innovation” in the breakfast and snacking categories. That includes granola, oatmeal, baking mixes and functional snacks in a variety of formats such as pouches, cups, sachets, canisters and bulk.
The five-manufacturer business operates five facilities in three states and plans to open an automated facility to double its current capacity. Keep It Real did not provide further details on where the plant will be located or when it will open, and the company declined an interview.
“Our firsthand experience as founders and operators has given us a front-row seat to how fast this industry moves and what it takes to lead and win,” said Matt Weiss, founder of RIND Snacks and chief growth officer at Keep It Real Foods, in a press release. “We created Real to close the gap between true innovation and national scale by turning ideas into real, measurable results.”
The company is backed by Dallas, Texas-based CIC Partners, which focuses on growth companies. The private equity investor has more than $500 million invested in a broad range of companies, including several in the food and beverage industry.
Current investments in food and beverage include Packline Solutions Group, an equipment and packaging company in the food and beverage industry, and Tiff’s Treats, a baked-to-order cookie delivery company.
Some of CIC’s past food company investments include CTI Foods, a supplier of precooked, frozen and fresh food products, SPG Holdings, a specialty paper products manufacturer for the restaurant and foodservice distribution industries and CraftMark Bakery, a supplier of frozen food bakery products, among others.
Divesting in private-label
While CIC and Investindustrial are expanding their private-label footprint, Brynwood Partners is headed in the opposite direction with the Great Kitchens Food sale.
Great Kitchens Food now heads to Rich Products Corporation, also known as Rich’s, which manufactures its own line of baked goods and provides private-label products in foodservice, in-store bakery, deli and other retail outlets. The Buffalo, New York-based company reports $6 billion in annual sales, according to Brynwood.
The private-label company was formed by Brynwood Partners in 2020 to acquire Aryzta North America’s pizza and flatbread business, the private-equity firm said. Great Kitchens now manufactures private-label take-and-bake pizzas, flatbreads, strombolis and calzones for major grocers, wholesale clubs, foodservice and e-commerce outlets.
The food manufacturer operates three plants in Romeo and Chicago Heights, Ill., and Brockton, Mass.
“The Great Kitchens sale culminates a series of Brynwood Partners transactions during a nine-month period that is unprecedented in our firm’s history,” said Henk Hartong, chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners. “We completed the sale of Harvest Hill Beverage Company in May 2025 to Castillo Hermanos and Centerview Partners.
“Brynwood Partners IX LP acquired Hometown Food Company from a prior Brynwood fund and then Hometown Foods acquired the Chef Boyardee brand from Conagra Brands, Inc. Including Great Kitchens, this group of transactions totaled nearly $3.2 billion.”
