- HQ: San Leandro, CA
- Category: Brands
- Investment: Sold to Sara Lee Corporation (Tyson Foods)
Aidells pioneered the premium, poultry-based sausage category and offers a full product line of flavors, such as Chicken & Apple, Cajun Style Andouille and Roasted Garlic & Gruyere Cheese sausages.
Aidells also offers a line of meatball products in flavors such as Teriyaki Pineapple and Buffalo-Style.
Encore partnered with management to acquire Aidells Sausage Company. Aidells was privately owned by the retiring Chairman and the Company’s President. The Aidells management team remained intact after the acquisition and reinvested in the Company alongside Encore.
Investment Period Highlights
- Proved out retail grocery expansion strategy
- Invested in brand building to increase household penetration and purchase frequency while maintaining authenticity, creating “must have” brand for strategic buyers
- Launched new flavors and products (meatballs, organic sausage, raw sausage) and reformulated the product line to become all natural
- Enhanced the product using leading-edge processing technology to more than double shelf life, meaningfully reducing sodium content, and increasing food safety while maintaining superior taste and removing preservatives
- Revenues increased over 50%
Encore was a terrific partner with the Aidells’ team, working on several areas important to our success including team building, product and manufacturing innovation, investment in marketing activities, and increased sales penetration with key customers. The Encore team understands how to grow a brand while providing the strategic vision and support we needed to execute our growth strategy. When we were choosing an investor, we selected Encore because we were confident that they could deliver more than just capital. We decided to partner with Encore because we knew that they would allow us to build the Aidells brand without compromising on quality. Our relationship has been a huge success for Aidells, Encore, their investors and Aidells’ growing consumer base. We would love to work together again.
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