Sauer Brands buys independent salsa brand

Richmond-based Sauer Brands Inc. is expanding into salsa with the acquisition of Frisco, Texas-based Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa, the company announced Thursday.

Sauer Brands, which owns Duke’s Mayonnaise, The Spice Hunter, Kernel Season’s and its own line of spices and seasoning, did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

In July 2019, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Falfurrias Capital Partners purchased C.F. Sauer Co. after decades of family ownership. The Sauer family still owns Sauer Properties, a commercial real estate company with holdings in the greater Richmond area.

“We are incredibly excited to add Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa to our growing family of highly differentiated and inspired flavors,” Sauer Brands President and CEO Martin Kelly said in a statement. “There are many synergies across our product lines, and we see significant growth potential in the salsa category, so it’s a great fit for our organization.”

Andrew Robbins started Mateo’s in 2010, when he decided to market his father’s homemade salsa. Mateo’s products are marketed through Costco, Target, Publix and Kroger.

“It has been an amazing journey building our brand and seeing it become one of the largest independently owned salsas in the country,” Robbins said in a statement. “Joining with a company like Sauer Brands, which has so many resources and such an impressive track record, is extremely gratifying, and I can’t wait to see what the Mateo’s brand will achieve during this next phase of its growth.”

Founded in 1887, Sauer Brands has manufacturing facilities in Richmond, South Carolina, Kansas and California.