Intrepid Investment Bankers announced that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to California Custom Fruits and Flavors (CCFF) on its acquisition by an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital in partnership with CCFF’s management team and the Hall family who remain investors.
California Custom Fruits and Flavors – A Pioneering History
Founded in 1986 by Terry and Rose Ann Hall and based in Irwindale, California Custom Fruits and Flavors has been at the forefront of the value-added specialty ingredients and flavors sector for over 35 years. CCFF is a major supplier of custom-formulated fruit bases, fruit fillings, flavors, and specialty ingredients with strategic, partner-like relationships across an attractive base of food and beverage processors in the dairy, bakery, confectionary, and beverage sectors. The company has made substantial investments including two custom-built, world-class facilities, a dedicated in-house R&D team and a
staff of certified flavor chemists.
“The company’s commitment to innovation and dedication to customer service define CCFF’s culture and are the cornerstone of a remarkable multi-decade tenure with many of their top customers. The success of CCFF is a true testament to the company’s reputation and culture that Terry and Rose Ann Hall built starting over 35 years ago,” said Steve Davis, Managing Director at Intrepid.
“It was an honor and pleasure working with the Hall family, Mike Mulhausen (CEO of CCFF) and his team in facilitating this acquisition. We eagerly anticipate the impressive achievements that will result from their partnership with Peak Rock,” said Brian Levin, Managing Director and Co-Head of the Food, Beverage & Agriculture practice at Intrepid.
The Next Chapter
CCFF’s new partnership with Peak Rock provides the foundation to further enhance the company’s impressive organic growth record through complementary add-on acquisitions. The company will continue to focus on exceptional customer service while looking to further build its blue-chip customer base and enter adjacent product categories.
Peak Rock’s Thesis on Value-Added Ingredients
For Peak Rock, CCFF represents a platform in the value-added specialty 
ingredients and flavors industry with strong capabilities to provide innovative, custom products nationally to blue-chip and high-growth customers. Peak Rock has an impressive track record in the food manufacturing space and its buy-and-build and organic growth strategies align well with CCFF’s growth plans.
Why This Deal Matters
This transaction brought together a very special enterprise with an experienced partner with financial resources to back the growth vision of a proven management team – the ingredients of this deal included:
- Scarce asset with custom production capabilities to service small, medium, and large customers nationally
- Investment from financial partner to allow CCFF to scale its capacity and product development in existing and new end-markets
- On-going growth in consumer demand for better-for-you products
- Partnership and investment to benefit CCFF customers, suppliers, and team members with prospects of delivering outsized returns to the equity holders
The Bottom Line
Within the competitive specialty ingredient industry, companies focused on innovative, value-added solutions for customers continue to differentiate themselves in the M&A market. Selecting the ideal partner to build upon CCFF’s capabilities and brand legacy was critical. Intrepid executed a rigorous and disciplined process to identify the right partner for CCFF, leading to an outstanding outcome for the Hall family, management team, and the company’s dedicated workforce.