RIVIANA FOODS BUYS INHARVEST FOR $49M TO BOOST CALIFORNIAN FOOTPRINT

Riviana Foods – North America’s largest processor, marketer and distributor of branded and private label rice products – has signed an agreement to buy the assets of InHarvest, another specialist in the production, marketing and sale of premium speciality rice, quinoa and grains (including wild rice).

The value of the sale is $48.75 million (€43.68m) and the transaction is expected to close in early April 2022, subject to the usual closing formalities. InHarvest employs about 140 workers and posted a turnover of $50.3 million in 2020.

The acquisition expands Riviana’s operations and geographic footprint into California, supported by two production facilities in Colusa and Woodland which are strategically located in the rice-growing areas of the western United States.

Riviana looks to grow in speciality, value-added rice

InHarvest’s focus on the foodservice, ingredients/industrial and retail/private label sectors should complement Riviana’s current business in those segments. “The acquisition of InHarvest is an excellent fit and consistent with our strategic plan to expand our position in the speciality, value-added rice, quinoa and grains markets,” said Riviana’s president and CEO Enrique Zaragoza. “We are excited about this expansion.”

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Riviana is a wholly-owned subsidiary of listed Spanish food company Ebro Foods, a world leader in the rice sector with group sales of €2.88 billion in 2021, down 0.7%. Of that the rice business contributed €1.8 billion, with sales of top-end products continuing to see double-digit growth.

Riviana has a portfolio of well-known rice brands in the US. They include Minute, Mahatma, Success, Carolina, Comet, Adolphus, Blue Ribbon, RiceSelect, Gourmet House and Tilda. The company also processes, markets and distributes fresh pasta through the brand Olivieri.

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