According to Parker Products – while the two producers serve many of the same customers with highly complementary product lines – the merger provides an opportunity for customers to source a wider range of inclusions and ingredients from a single supplier.
Parker Products offers creative inclusions, flavour systems and grinds – such as agave-glazed quinoa, blueberry-rosemary fruit prep and natural peppermint candy grinds – for the bakery, snack, confectionery, dairy and beverage sectors. CFI’s complementary portfolio includes baked ingredients such as whole cookies, cookie crumbs and crumble toppings.
“Parker Products has been intriguing consumers with exciting new flavours, textures and product characteristics for nearly a century,” said Greg Hodder, president of Parker.
“The addition of CFI’s complementary line of baked inclusions and toppings, including the unique Cookie Gems and other rotary cookie bits, positions us as the ‘go-to’ source of premium ingredients for our customers.”
He added, “The combination of Parker’s excellence in batch processing and artisanal ingredients is a perfect fit with CFI’s expertise in higher-volume orders and enables us to address a broader range of customer needs than ever before.”
CFI’s CEO Michael O’Flaherty has transitioned away from the day-to-day operations but has maintained an ongoing investment in the business. Industry veteran Ron Savelli has been appointed to lead the company, working closely with CFI operations director Mike Humberstone. CFI operates multiple facilities in Perry, NY, and employs over 200 employees.
“CFI has continued to invest in growth since my family purchased the company in 2005,” said O’Flaherty.
“Joining Parker presents compelling opportunities not only for our customers but also for our employees as we look to the future, and that potential was too good to pass up. I’m excited about this next chapter for CFI as part of Parker Products.”
Parker and CFI will remain co-branded in the marketplace, honouring both companies’ strong brand equity and complementary product offerings.