Benestar Brands, a Highlander Partners Portfolio Company, Announces Acquisition of 4505 Meats
February 1, 2022 – Charlotte, NC – Benestar Brands, a leading salty snacks company with operations across the US and Mexico, today announced the acquisition of 4505 Meats (“4505”). With a stringent focus on superior ingredients and quality, 4505 has emerged as the leader in the premium pork rinds segment, and is now rapidly expanding into other snack categories. The acquisition adds to Benestar’s expanding roster of brands, including Mac’s, PORQ, Turkey Creek, Pretzilla, Chicas and Cazo de Oro, and bolsters Benestar as the clear leader in the pork rinds and meat snacks markets.
4505 was founded by butcher and chef Ryan Farr in the Mission District of San Francisco, where he found chicharrones in many of the small neighborhood markets. Today 4505 is a high growth brand that can be found in leading retailers across the US. 4505’s brand proposition has always centered around prioritizing quality and using all-natural ingredients and responsibly raised meats that lead to a healthier snack. 4505 products are both keto-friendly and paleo-certified and use only humanely raised and antibiotic free (ABF) pork. The Company is continuously focused on innovation as demonstrated by the recently launched new line of premium sausage snacks, 4505 Butcher’s Snacks, which are available in three authentic flavors and packed with 18-24 grams of protein per serving, keto-certified, paleo-friendly and gluten-free.
Bruce Myers, President of Benestar Brands, commented, “We are very excited to be partnering with Ryan, Erik (Havlick, CEO of 4505) and the rest of the 4505 team. 4505 has quickly established itself as one of the most innovative and exciting brands in the salty snack industry.” Erik Havlick, who will continue to lead 4505, added, “Teaming up with Benestar Brands and Highlander Partners represents an exciting new chapter for 4505 Meats, and is perfectly timed at an inflection point for our brand. We believe that joining Benestar Brands will enable 4505 to accelerate even faster as a leader in premium snacks.”
Jeff L. Hull, President and CEO of Highlander Partners, commented, “When we created Benestar, we established an active M&A platform in the salty snack space targeting brands with exceptional growth prospects, unique products and strong brand equity. 4505 fits these criteria perfectly and we are thrilled to welcome 4505 into Benestar.” Jeff Partridge, current Executive Chairman of Benestar and a Partner at Highlander, added, “4505 created the premium pork rind category and established better-for-you standards that previously didn’t exist. This addition to our portfolio of brands couldn’t be a more appropriate fit.”
About Benestar
Benestar Brands operates as a holding company for leading brands of snack products, including pork rinds and tortilla chips. The brands include Pretzilla, Mac’s, Caso de Oro, PORQ and Chicas Chips. Its Evans Food division is a leading manufacturer of pork rinds, serving US and international markets. Its other divisions, Arboleda Foods, is the producer of tortilla chips and Pretzilla is the leader in soft pretzels. Benestar is headquartered in Chicago with six production facilities around North America (Chicago, IL; Arlington, TX; Milwaukee, WI; Portsmouth, OH; City of Industry, CA; and Saltillo, Mexico). For more information, visit www.benestarbrands.com.
About Highlander Partners
Highlander Partners, L.P. is a Dallas-based private investment firm with over $2 billion of assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience, including basic manufacturing, food, chemicals, consumer products, and others. Highlander Partners uses a buy and build investment approach, creating value by helping companies grow both organically and through acquisitions. For more information, visit www.highlander-partners.com.