KRAFT GETTING OUT OF MARSHMALLOW AND CARAMEL BUSINESS
By Adnews Staff
Texas Pacific Group and InterWest Partners have made an agreement to buy the North American marshmallow and caramel business of U.S.-based Kraft Foods. The purchase is expected to be completed in mid-September. A newly formed company called Favorite Brands International will market the products. The marshmallow and caramel business is part of three Kraft divisions: the Enhancers Division, Kraft Canada and Kraft Food Ingredients. In Canada, the Leo Burnett Company of Toronto does advertising for Kraft's marshmallows and caramels but the account has been dormant, account executive Sandy Watt told Adnews yesterday. Texas Pacific of Fort Worth, Texas, is a private investment partnership specializing in corporate acquisitions. InterWest, of Menlo Park, California, is a venture capital partnership which has amongst its holdings several restaurant chains, including Bojangles which sells chicken and some Mexican food chains. "While Kraft Marshmallows and caramels are high-quality products, they no longer fit wih our long-term stratgic direction," said Kraft chairman Robert Morrison in a release.