American company Amplify Snack Brands - based in Austin (Texas) - has agreed to buy UK crisp maker Tyrrells, for £300 million.
Tyrrells was founded in 2002 by potato farmer William Chase, who saw more profit in making crisps than in selling potatoes to supermarkets. Products include potato-, vegetable- and tortilla crisps and an upmarket popcorn, advertised as "poshcorn".
The company was acquired by Investcorp - based in Bahrain - around three years ago. Sales, profits and staffing increased rapidly and the company generated around £85m in net sales last year. The proportion of international sales has doubled to 40% over the last three years.
Tyrrells current CEO David Milner is moving with the company, and will be in charge of Amplify's non-US operations.
"This is a terrific deal for Tyrrells ", Mr Milner commented, "As a small, UK farm-based business it is a tremendous achievement to be part of a US publicly-traded company with the international reach to make Tyrrells a global brand".
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Martha Sparrius. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
