Five Star Custom Foods specializes in cooked protein products and custom prepared soups and sauces for the foodservice and food processing segments. Cargill said adding Five Star to the company’s portfolio will advance Cargill’s existing cooked protein capabilities, optimize supply chain efficiencies and provide product innovation. Five Star Custom Foods was established in 1999 and employs 385 people.
“Adding Five Star Custom Foods to Cargill’s protein business will provide us with new capabilities we currently do not have, while allowing us to be more nimble in our ability to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers and consumers in today’s fast-paced marketplace,” Brian Sikes, corporate vice president of Cargill’s protein businesses, said in a statement. “We will also learn from the proven success of the Five Star Custom Foods team, which will allow us to enhance our own portfolio as we continue to grow our protein business.”
The agreement with Five Star marks the second Fort Worth operation Cargill has acquired in the past four years. In 2012, Cargill purchased a beef grind facility in the area. More recently, Cargill announced its acquisition of a ground beef processing plant in Columbia, South Carolina.
Lazard Middle Market served as financial advisor to Five Star Custom Foods on the transaction.