Dallas, Texas – August 30, 2024 – Sky Island Capital (“Sky Island”), a Dallas-based lower middle market private equity firm, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, Kaufhold’s Kurds, Inc. (“Kaufhold’s), has acquired Curdco, Inc. dba Curdtown (“Curdtown” or “the Company”). Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Buffalo, Minnesota, Curdtown is a producer of deep-fried, white cheddar cheese curds. Curdtown was founded with the ideal that curds should be available to everyone, not just Midwesterners, and after thousands of hours and hundreds of formulas tested, the Company established the proprietary formula that consumers can enjoy today. Curdtown sources its fresh cheese curds from the heart of Dairyland in the town of Ellsworth, the Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin, where Kaufhold’s Kurds is headquartered.
“The Curdtown brand is an excellent fit for Kaufhold’s Kurds. Curdtown’s founder, Mark Largent, and his team have built a great business that has always delivered a high-quality, delicious product,” said Anthony Drummond, Chief Executive Officer of Kaufhold’s Kurds. “We’re excited to continue working with the Curdtown team to expand the Company’s legacy through our combined partnership, which will play an integral role in Kaufhold’s growth strategy.”
Mark Largent, owner of Curdtown, commented, “I am thrilled to find the right home for Curdtown. The Kaufhold’s team has created an excellent culture, and our curds will be a great addition to Kaufhold’s product offerings.”
Curdtown serves both large-scale and local foodservice distributors, as well as selling directly to local restaurants in the Midwest and across the U.S. The company offers two flavors of delicious and fresh curds – the Original Curd, a premium white cheddar curd wrapped in delicate golden breading, and the Seasoned Curd, made with a blend of Cajun spices. Both flavors utilize Curdtown’s proprietary recipe, giving the curds just the right amount of zest. Curdtown sources its curds from Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, which is located down the street from Kaufhold’s Kurds headquarters.
Curdtown is Kaufhold’s Kurds’ first add-on acquisition.
About Sky Island Capital
Sky Island Capital (www.skyislandcap.com) is a lower middle market private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas that makes control investments in strategically viable North American manufacturing companies that exhibit transformational upside potential. Sky Island focuses on situations where it can draw upon its deep operational experience to support senior management in driving significant value creation through operational and strategic partnership, including add-on acquisitions. Sky Island is comfortable with and has a history of executing transactions with complex dynamics, including family-owned businesses, management buyouts, corporate carve-outs, public to privates, lender-controlled businesses, and other special situations.
About Kaufhold’s Kurds
Founded in 1995, Kaufhold’s Kurds is a wholesale manufacturer of hand breaded Wisconsin cheese curds primarily selling through food service distributors across the U.S. “Home of the Original Hand Breaded Cheese Curd,” Kaufhold’s perfected its techniques and recipes for years at its locally owned restaurant in Ellsworth, Wisconsin before deciding to share its passion with the masses when it built its first wholesale production facility a few years later. Fast forward to today and Kaufhold’s is the largest dedicated breaded cheese curd manufacturer in the U.S. with sales to 49 states. Despite its growth, Kaufhold’s remains steadfast in its commitment to quality, starting with the finest and freshest Wisconsin cheese curds and hand breading them in small batches to ensure a light and complete coating. In addition to its bestselling Original flavor, Kaufhold’s has perfected six additional flavors – Jalapeño, Garlic, Sriracha, Chesapeake Bay, Dill Pickle, and Cajun.
For more information, please contact Will Dobbs.
Will Dobbs
Partner
[email protected]
