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Food family business consolidates operations

By Rashmi Kumar

North America is home to a large number of family businesses operating in the food sector – last year, more than 30 of CampdenFB’s top 100 family businesses in the region were either food retailers or producers. Families in the food industry are once again in the limelight, thanks to a Canadian company consolidating its operations.

Sofina Foods, a family-run producer and retailer of food products, has acquired Janes Family Foods, said a statement on 2 March. Although terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the companies said Janes will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sofina Foods following regulatory approval.

According to Lembit Janes, second-generation chairman and chief executive of Ontario-based Janes Family Foods, retiring from the business, which came into the family’s control in the 1970s, was a “difficult decision”.

“Though it was a difficult decision to retire from the company that the Janes family has built and operated over the past 43 years, we are very pleased to pass our legacy on to Sofina Foods, another great Canadian family-owned business,” he said.

While Sofina Foods’ portfolio includes pork, beef, turkey and chicken brands, the Janes’s family business specialises in processed chicken and seafood products. Through the acquisition, Sofina Foods aims to expand its product categories, said the statement.

“We believe this acquisition provides Sofina with the opportunity to grow in product categories complementary to our current product lines, and brings expertise and capacity in the manufacture of further processed protein products,” added Michael Latifi, chairman and chief executive of Sofina Foods, in the release.

Headquartered in Markham in Ontario, Sofina Foods’ brands include Lilydale, Fletcher’s and Vienna, and it currently employs more than 3,000 people.

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