About Founders

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FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY INVESTING ITS OWN CAPITAL

Founders is a family-owned company that invests its own capital and applies operating know-how to build a group of thriving food and beverage businesses and exceptional partnerships we can all be proud of.

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LONG HISTORY & AFFILIATIONS

Our partners combine deep operating knowledge with over 30 years’ experience making control investments in over 80 private companies. We have a track record of transacting with speed and price certainty as a group of highly experienced partners investing our own capital.

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BUILDING A FAMILY OF THRIVING FOOD AND BEVERAGE BUSINESSES AND EXCEPTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS  

We are building a family of related food and beverage businesses in mature, stable food segments, including:

• Specialty Protein (Purewater Foods)

• Confectionary / Edible Gifts (Ganache Gourmet)

• Prepared, Ready-to-Eat Foods (Freshstone Kitchen)

• Other food and beverage industry sub-sectors (New Platform Acquisitions)

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​COMPANY STORYBOARD

Download our company  storyboard  for a snapshot overview of our business and to see how our group of companies is organized.

COMPANY HISTORY

Download our company timeline for a snapshot overview of who we are and to see how our group of companies has evolved over time.

THE SWALLOW

Learn more about the Swallow.

Investment Scope

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• Focused on food / beverage manufacturers and distributors or businesses in an adjacent space such as packaging; also invest in related real estate.

• Primary focus on businesses with $5 to $10M of EBITDA (USD or CAD); stretching to $10 to $25M of EBITDA (USD or CAD) for exceptional opportunities; no size limitation for add-on acquisitions to existing businesses.

• Geographic focus in Midwest, Southwest or West of USA and Central / Western Canada, extending to East within priority segments (e.g., protein).

• Preference for mature and durable businesses that are cash-flow generative, and include manufacturing assets.

• Look for opportunity to invest, grow and hold a business over very long term while offering liquidity for minority shareholders and management along the way; opportunity to contribute operating know-how to create value; opportunity for the business platform to create a bigger future; opportunity to create a mutual benefit among the different businesses in the Founders Group of Food Companies.

Our Businesses

Divested April 2020

New Business Platforms

Founders is actively seeking to add new food and beverage business platforms.

Click here to see our Investment Scope.

Working With Us

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PARTNERSHIP ALIGNMENT

We ensure alignment of interests and financial goals across all stakeholders, including transparent ownership rights and structures.

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REFINE STRATEGY & BUILD ORGANIZATION CAPABILITY

We partner with companies in creating a strategic road-map with a focus on value creation through building organization capability (leadership & culture, people & skills, knowledge & systems, tools and processes, metrics) and improvements in market and customer relevance.

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LEADERSHIP SUPPORT

Founders' senior team balance operating know-how with transaction and financing skills.  We engage as an active Chairman and Board, creating freedom within a framework for companies in our group.

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VALUES-DRIVEN MINDSET

We have a values-driven mindset and culture.

• Our core mindsets and behaviors include: 'Love of Food', 'Always Improving', 'Be Ambitious', 'Freedom within a Framework', 'Stakeholder-oriented', 'People Matter', 'Build Organization Capability' and 'Winning with Customers & Consumers'.

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INVEST, BUILD, AND HOLD

We are business builders (vs. investors), with an explicit intention to own our group of companies indefinitely.​

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Founders Team

Operating Advisory Group