Baby potato category leader Tasteful Selections and RPE, its exclusive sales and marketing partner since Tasteful Selections planted its first potato in 2010, announced on Nov. 10 the formation of a new entity, Tasteful Partners.
As part of the arrangement, Tasteful Partners is acquiring Bancroft, Wis.-based RPE and closed on the sale in early November, according to a news release. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
The deal creates synergies as well as alignment and integration opportunities across Tasteful Selections and RPE, said Tasteful Selections CEO Bob Bender said in the release.
The new Tasteful Partners entity is a wholly-owned CSS Farms subsidiary, a multi-state firm based in South Dakota that grows and supplies seed, chip, processed and specialty potatoes.
“This action will further align our agribusinesses, while better leveraging RPE as a strategic asset to help Tasteful Selections continue growing,” Bender said in the release.
RPE was established in 1971 and is in its 50th year. RPE sells 1.2 billion pounds of potatoes per year, equivalent of 125 truckloads per day, according to the release.
The Tasteful Selections-RPE partnership has been in place since Tasteful Selections began growing and packing potatoes in 2010.
The creation of Tasteful Partners consolidates RPE expertise, proprietary data, category insight, intellectual property and sales strategy assets with Tasteful Selections planting, growing, harvesting and packing processes, according to the release.
Consolidating Tasteful Selections and RPE in the new Tasteful Partners entity, Bender said, allows Tasteful Selections to better serve its customers as a vertically integrated operation from seed to field to packing and the customer sale, company officials said in the release.
“Tasteful Selections already understands and appreciates the value RPE provides,” Bender said in the release. “We want to continue on the impressive growth trajectory we’re on while building upon RPE’s well-established reputation as a produce industry-leading innovation and solutions provider.”
The familiarity and trust built during 12 years working together will be beneficial during what RPE CEO Russell Wysocki anticipates will be a seamless transition.
“The collaborative spirit that sustained us during more than a decade of rapid Tasteful Selections expansion provides a solid foundation for continued growth,” Wysocki said in the release, noting five facility expansions of the Arvin, California-based facility since 2014.
In the new organizational structure, Wysocki remains the RPE CEO. He and the RPE management team will report to a newly-formed Tasteful Partners Board of Directors, according to the release.
“We are very thankful and fortunate to have such wonderful team members across our family of companies,” Wysocki said in the release. “They are valuable contributors and integral to our continued success.”
RPE prior to formation of Tasteful Partners was a wholly owned subsidiary of Wysocki Family of Companies. WFC remains a family-owned, privately held organization focused on its three core businesses: Eagle River Seed Farm, Wysocki Produce Farm and Paragon Potato Farms, according to the release.
