Rome, Georgia-based Southeastern Mills Inc. has acquired The Original Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce and related assets from New Iberia, Louisiana-based Bruce Foods Corp. This acquisition includes all of the brands and intellectual property related to the hot sauce business, as well as the manufacturing and warehouse facilities in New Iberia.
The Original Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce has been produced for 80 years from three all-natural ingredients, including long cayenne chile peppers. The hot sauce, with the identifiable red dot on the label, can be found in all major U.S. grocers and in restaurants from coast to coast. It is distributed in more than 60 countries.
Other brands that Southeastern Mills acquired include Louisiana wing sauce, Red Rooster hot sauce, Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce, Louisiana brand Tabasco Peppers in Vinegar and Bruce’s Tabasco Peppers in Vinegar. The newly acquired brands will operate under “The Original Louisiana Hot Sauce Company” name.
According to Linda Owens, president of Southeastern Mills, “This strategic acquisition adds yet another strong brand to the growing Southeastern Mills family. Hot sauces and bold flavors are rapidly growing in popularity and the Original Louisiana hot sauce products have helped drive that growth. We’re excited about this addition, as it strengthens our retail portfolio and gives us more products to sell to our food service and industrial customers.”
Added J.S. “Si” Brown III, president and CEO of Bruce Foods Corp., “We are happy with how this acquisition unfolded. Southeastern Mills is a family business that shares our values and vision. They will be good stewards of the hot sauce business we’ve built over the past seven decades.”
Norman S. Brown Sr., Bruce Foods’ chairman and VP, said “Finding the right buyer was important to us. We believe that the transition of the business will be seamless for our customers.”
