Landec Corp., parent company of Curation Foods Inc., is considering selling off the company’s vegetable trays and bagged vegetables.
Curation Foods changed its name from Apio — Spanish for “celery” — in early 2019. Landec’s other business is Lifecore Biomedical Inc. The Landec board of directors recently announced they’re exploring “strategic alternatives for its legacy vegetable bag and tray business, which includes the potential divestiture of that business,” according to a news release.
The move would improve the company’s operating costs, simplify the supply chain and strengthen the company’s finances, according to the release.
The company has been evaluating the commodity vegetable and tray business since the board appointed Albert Bolles to CEO in May 2019.
“Our team’s approach to growth and profitability is to focus on leveraging the strength of our higher-margin product and innovation platforms,” Bolles said in the release.
Curation Foods markets O Olive Oil & Vinegar lines, and Cabo Fresh and Yucatan guacamole products.
“Consistent with my philosophy of ‘getting smaller to get bigger,’ we believe that rightsizing the legacy business will result in improved financial performance and enable Curation Foods to set a course for sustainable profitable growth,” Bolles said in the release.
The legacy vegetable bag and tray business, which includes Eat Smart and private label brands, had net sales of $160 million in fiscal year 2019, according to the release. The company has hired investment banking company William Blair to help in the process.
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