Following its sale to a Texas company, a Lehigh Valley factory making stuffed marshmallows is slated to close, idling 106 workers.
The factory is operated by Stuffed Puffs LLC, which was sold yesterday to Mount Franklin Foods.
The Bethlehem plant is slated to close by Nov. 9, with layoffs beginning Oct. 26, according to a layoff notice filed Monday with state and local officials.
Terms of the business sale were not disclosed and efforts to reach the two companies were not successful.
But in a press release, Mount Franklin indicated it is committed to the Stuffed Puffs brand, founded by entrepreneur Michael Tierney and nurtured in a Lehigh Valley food-business incubator called Factory LLC.
“The acquisition of Stuffed Puffs represents a significant step in broadening our confectionery portfolio,” Mount Franklin CEO Enrique Grajeda said in a statement. “We are excited as we wed our strengths with those of Stuffed Puffs to develop even more value and innovation to our customers.”
The seller: Tierney founded Stuffed Puffs as an alternative to s’mores.
His company puts the chocolate inside the marshmallow, unlike a s’more, where the chocolate is on the outside.
Stuffed Puffs opened the $31.5 million, 150,000 square-foot Bethlehem factory in 2019, according to news reports at the time.
The buyer: Mount Franklin originated in the early 1900s as Azar Nut Co., a small nut and candy store near El Paso, Texas.
It grew into a nationwide purveyor of nuts and eventually changed its name as it added other products.
The menu now includes mints, fruit snacks, gummy worms and fruit-flavored candies, among other products.
The trend: The food business has been a hotbed of M&A.
Earlier this week, New Jersey-based Campbell Soup announced a sale of its Pop Secret microwave popcorn business to Our Home, a snack-food company also based in New Jersey. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but Campbell said the Pop Secret unit has annual sales of about $120 million.
The sale does not involve any assets in Hanover, where Campbell makes potato chips and other snacks, according to a Campbell spokesperson.
However, the buyer forged a previous deal with Hanover-based Utz Brands.
In February, Our Home bought two factories and two snack brands from Utz, including a plant in Manheim Township, Lancaster County. The $182.5 million deal also included the lease for a plant in Las Vegas.
Our Home specializes in so-called “better for you” snacks pitched as healthier options.
Other recent deals include Mars‘s $36 billion acquisition of Kellanova, which makes Pringles, Pop-Tarts and Rice Krispie Treats.
