Cal-Maine Foods has joined hands with US peer Crepini to form a prepared foods and egg products venture.
Mississippi-headquartered egg supplier Cal-Maine said it has “completed a strategic investment” with Crepini to operate the new entity Crepini Foods, located in Hopewell Junction, New York.
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Cal-Maine will hold 51% of the venture and will inject $6.8m for Crepini Foods to purchase new equipment and to fund working capital. Crepini’s existing assets and operations will be incorporated into the business in exchange for a 49% interest.
Crepini, founded in 2007, already operates out of a factory in Hopewell Junction serving markets in the US and Mexico. The company produces egg wraps, filled omelettes, protein pancakes and crepes under its own brand name and Pancheesi. The kosher range is low-carb, low-calorie and gluten-free.
Cal-Maine president and CEO Sherman Miller said: “We are pleased to announce our strategic investment in Crepini, which aligns with our growth strategy to enhance our product portfolio and focus on value-added products and other egg product opportunities.
“We have a unique opportunity to leverage the established Crepini brand of quality products and extend our market reach to major retailers across the country.”
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By GlobalDataMiller added that the Crepini business will “complement” Cal-Maine’s own production of hard-cooked eggs out of its Meadowcreek facility in West Virginia, serving the retail and foodservice channels.
Crepini sells its products online and through 3,500 retail stores in the US and Mexico.
CEO Paula Rimer Shkolnik said: “This partnership will allow us to make our products available to more national and international customers and continue to provide innovations in the egg specialty products category.
“The Crepini team is looking forward to expanding our brand and offerings.”
Crepini is the second deal struck by Nasdaq-listed Cal-Maine in as many months. In July, the company said it had acquired “substantially” all of the assets of local peer ISE America and “certain affiliates” for around $110m.
The transaction included shell egg production and facilities with a capacity of about 4.7 million laying hens, along with approximately 4,000 acres of land.
Also in July, Cal-Maine reported its annual results for the period to 1 June. Lower selling prices for eggs pushed revenue down 26% to $2.3bn.
Operating income fell to $312.4m from $967.7m, while net income slid to $277.9m from $758m.
Commenting on the results, Miller said: “We are proud of our performance in fiscal 2024, as we continued to execute our growth strategy in a challenging environment as well as respond to new market opportunities.
“Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, we believe demand for shell eggs will remain strong as consumers continue to look for more affordable protein options.
“We will continue to focus on expanding our production capacity for additional speciality and cage-free eggs that meet current consumer demand trends. Importantly, we have the financial strength to fund our internal expansion projects and to consider acquisitions that complement our operations and support our growth initiatives.”
