Lassonde Industries Inc. is buying Apple & Eve juice
company of New York State for US$150-million.
Lassonde, based in Quebec and Canada’s largest fruit juice
company, says the acquisition of Apple & Eve will allow it to enter the branded juice business in the U.S.
Apple & Eve, based in Port Washington, N.Y., is a
leading independent branded juice company in the U.S., with total annualized
net sales of US$190-million.
In 2007, Lassonde
purchases bought the assets for the production and commercialization of
ready-to-drink fruit juices and fruit drinks belonging to McCain Foods (Canada).
It also bought Les
Produits alimentaires Mondiv Inc., a plant in Boisbriand, Quebec that produces
long-shelf-life specialty food products.
In 2009 it bought
Apple Valley Juice Corporation, a division of Dominion Citrus Ltd., at
Clarksburg, Ont.
In 2011 it bouth
Clement Pappas and Company Inc., the largest producer of store-brand fruit
juices and fruit drinks in the U.S.
The brands it
markets now include Allen’s, Rougemont, Del Monte, Tropical Grove, Graves,
Niagara and Oasis.
The company began in
1918 at Rougemont, Que., as a vegetable juice producer.
It was 1996 when it
bought Mar-Brite, an Ontario company founded as a co-operative to improve the
fortunes of apple producers.
