Palmex and Benestar Brands Merge
Combination creates one of the largest providers of Hispanic and better-for-you salty snack products in North America
Chicago, Ill. – Palmex S. de R.L. de C.V. (“Palmex”), a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners (“Wind Point”), is pleased to announce its merger with Benestar Brands (“Benestar”), a portfolio company of Highlander Partners (“Highlander”). The combination (collectively the “Combined Company”) forms one of the largest providers of Hispanic and better-for-you (“BFY”) salty snack products in North America. The Hispanic and BFY salty snack market is attractive – large and growing faster than the broader salty snacks market. The Combined Company will employ more than 1,400 people, operate 8 facilities across North America and sell a diverse portfolio of innovative, pellet-centric snacks. Both company names and brands will remain in place post-closing.
Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, Palmex is a leading manufacturer of BFY and Hispanic snack pellets for salty snacks. Snack pellets are the intermediate form in many salty snack products, including veggie sticks or straws, three dimensional snacks, food carriers, wavy snacks and other unique forms. Wind Point acquired Palmex in 2022 in partnership with Wind Point Executive Advisor Partner (“EAP”) Jose Luis Prado, who has served as Chair and CEO for the last two years.
Based in Chicago, Ill., Benestar is a manufacturer of branded and non-branded ethnic salty snacks including pork rinds, tortilla chips and pellet-based snacks. Select brands including Mac’s™, the leading pork rind brand in the U.S., Chicas™, a highly authentic tortilla chip brand and Cazo de Oro™, tortilla chips and pellet-based snacks. As part of the transaction, Pretzilla, Benestar’s manufacturer of fresh pretzel bread products and snacks, will remain a stand-alone business owned by Highlander and run by dedicated Pretzilla management. Wind Point has great familiarity with Benestar, having owned its largest subsidiary company, Evans Food Group, from 2016 to 2019.
The Combined Company will be led by Jose Luis Prado as its Chair and CEO. Mr. Prado previously served as Chair and CEO of Evans Food Group under Wind Point’s ownership. Before leading Evans Food Group Mr. Prado spent 30 years with PepsiCo, where he led snack businesses in the U.S. and Latin America, including serving as President of Quaker Oats North America.
“This is a natural and powerful combination that will enable both Palmex and Benestar to turbocharge their growth,” stated Mr. Prado. “Our synergistic resources will allow us to bring more innovative and on-trend products to market, enabling us to better serve our customers across the U.S. and Latin America.”
Joe Lawler, Managing Director at Wind Point, commented, “The merger is an excellent fit. We discussed the combination of Evans Food Group with Palmex several years ago, but the timing was not right. Benestar’s brand equity and Palmex’s pellet manufacturing expertise will create new market opportunities and operating efficiencies. We are excited to continue investing in new product development and expansion.”
Wind Point is an active investor in the food and beverage sector, with select prior and current investments including good2grow, FreshEdge, Tropicale Foods, Stir Foods, Evans Food Group, Shearer’s and Hearthside Food Solutions.
Winston & Strawn LLP and Ritch, Mueller and Nicolau, SC served as legal counsel to Wind Point. KPMG LLP provided transaction advisory services in connection with the transaction.