Dippin' Dots Acquires Doc Popcorn And More Industry News

This week in industry news, the franchisor of Dippin' Dots acquired the franchisor of the Doc Popcorn kettle-cooked popcorn concept, Bob Evans Farms Inc. experienced a 47.8 percent fall in profit as well as a 4.1 percent fall in same-store sales for the fourth quarter, and Paul Clayton was named CEO of Umami Burger, replacing Adam Fleischman, the company's founder and chair.

Read on for more of this week's biggest financial news in the world of food.

Earnings

Potbelly Corp.: For its upcoming second quarter report, the company expects its revenue to rise 6.9 percent, reaching $83.6 million, and its same-store sales to fall 1.6 percent.

Photo Credit: Flickr/Jaysin Trevino

Bob Evans Farms Inc.: The company experienced a 47.8 percent fall in profit as well as a 4.1 percent fall in same-store sales for the fourth quarter.

 

Leadership Change

Umami Burger: The former president of Burger King, Paul Clayton, was named CEO of Umami Burger, replacing Adam Fleischman, the company's founder and chair. Fleischman stepped down earlier in 2014 to build another restaurant company, AdVantage Restaurants Partners.

HMSHost: Tom Fricke, president and CEO of HMSHost, stepped down from the positions and will be replaced by Steve Johnson, who has been with the company for 14 years and previously served as the its executive vice president of business development.

Patxi's Pizza: The company named Peter Serantoni, who formerly served as vice president of product development and executive chef for Vicorp Inc., as its chief concept officer.

Rita's Italian Ice: Eric Taylor was named senior vice president and chief development officer at Rita's Italian Ice. He previously held senior leadership roles at Metromedia Restaurant Group and Sbarro.

 

Mergers/Acquisitions

Dippin' Dots Franchising LLC: The franchisor of Dippin' Dots acquired the franchisor of the Doc Popcorn kettle-cooked popcorn concept, allowing Dippin' Dots to sell popcorn as one of its snack foods. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Berkshire Partners LLC: The private investment firm announced that it has entered into a "definitive agreement" with Portillo's Restaurant Group for a $1 billion buyout.

Agropur Cooperative: The company made a $356 million agreement to acquire Sobeys' dairy manufacturing plants in Western Canada and to supply milk, yogurt, and ice cream to Sobeys, Safeway, and IGA stores in the West long-term.

Archer Daniels Midland Co.: The company will acquire Wild Flavors GmbH in an all-cash transaction valued at about $3.1 billion, expected to close by the end of the year.

Have the inside scoop on a merger or acquisition? Know of a new advertising campaign around a new iconic product? We're always looking to get ahead of the game, so email us your tips.

Haley Willard is The Daily Meal's assistant editor. Follow her on Twitter @haleywillrd.