Birds Eye Foods has bought California & Washington Co., expanding its West Coast presence.
Birds Eye will keep the C&W brand name, which has the highest frozen-vegetable market share in California, the Pacific Northwest and Arizona. San Francisco-based C&W is the fastest-growing frozen-vegetable brand in the region, Birds Eye said.
Birds Eye also will use the added capacity to launch more value-added products and meal solutions to capitalize on consumer demand for convenient, healthful foods. Birds Eye spent $5.6 million on measured media in 2003, per TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Rochester, NY-based Birds Eye reports annual sales of about $1 billion; its brands include Freshlike, Brooks (canned vegetables), Comstock and Wilderness (fillings and toppings) and Nalley and Brooks (chili and chili ingredients).
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