US business Sugar Foods Corp. has been bought by Illinois-based investment company Pritzker Private Capital.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, California, Sugar Foods produces croutons, cheese snacks, and tortilla strips under the Fresh Gourmet and Mrs. Cubbison brands, as well as pizza toppings. It also supplies the beverage market with the N’Joy line of stick creamers and EcoStick sweeteners.

Customers include retail and foodservice, while Sugar Foods also supplies private-label clients. The company, which was founded in 1948, operates five facilities in the US and Mexico, employing more than 1,400 staff.

Family-owned Pritzker Private Capital (PPC) did not disclose the price paid for Sugar Foods in a statement. The takeover deal included investment from the acquired company’s management team, who will remain in place post-transaction. It is headed up by president Andrea Brule and CEO Marty Wilson.

Wilson said: “We sought to partner with PPC because of their track-record honouring family legacies and their shared commitment to our core values.

“With their support, Sugar Foods will be even better positioned to pursue exciting organic and acquisition growth opportunities, while preserving our rich employee-focused culture.”

According to PPC’s website, other investments in the food industry include a majority interest in Monogram Foods, a maker of meats snacks and appetisers based in Memphis, Tennessee.

It also fully owns C.H. Guenther & Son, the San Antonio, Texas-headquartered business supplying bakery products and frozen appetisers.

Chris Trick, an investment partner at PPC, added: “The company is led by a strong team, and we continue to be impressed by its robust capabilities and track record of successful product innovations.

“We look forward to partnering with the Sugar Foods team through the company’s next chapter, as they capitalise on compelling growth opportunities, pursue strategic add-on acquisitions and further cement the company’s position as a partner of choice to its customers.”