Fenwick Food Group, a division of Fenwick Brands Inc. – one of the leading consumer packaged goods investment firms in the Southeast – has acquired Wickles Pickles, an iconic and beloved Alabama brand.
Fenwick Food Group is an operating platform for food businesses and includes Alabama-based Moore’s Marinades & Sauces and newly acquired Wickles Pickles.
Wickles was founded by brothers Will and Trey Sims, and Andy Anderson back in 1998. With a unique flavor profile and robust product offering, Wickles has captured significant market share and consumer loyalty within the billion-dollar pickle category.
The opportunity was timely, with the Wickles brand hitting an inflection point where investment and additional resourcing was needed for scale. As growth minded investors already operating in mainstream retail outlets with Moore’s Marinades and Sauces, Fenwick’s decision to purchase the Wickles Pickles brand makes the partnership synergistic.
Fenwick’s track record as owner-operators of the Moore’s Marinades & Sauces brand was appealing to the Wickles team. “Fenwick is the perfect partner to accelerate the brand’s growth trajectory while preserving its identity and operating roots. We’re excited to see Wickles get the resources and investment it deserves to scale,” says co-founder Will Sims.
“We were aligned on the long-term vision and strategy for the brand, which cemented the partnership. Will, Trey and Andy have built an incredible brand with impressive momentum,” says Melissa Baker, President and CEO of Fenwick Food Group. “Two Alabama-based consumer brands coming together is special in the broader consumer packaged goods industry and made the investment more relational than transactional.”
Baker partnered with Benny M. LaRussa, Jr. in 2013, and the pair has been investing and operating in the consumer packaged goods sector ever since. Fenwick Food Group’s investment strategy is built to operate a platform of food brands that have profiles similar to Wickles and Moore’s. “Our long-term strategy is to curate a food platform with a handful of brands that could benefit from a shared team, investment and operational synergies,” says Baker. “Scale is becoming increasingly more difficult and expensive, and we want to help similar brands with strong consumer demand stay around.”
