Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (“e2p”), a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on the food and consumer packaged goods industries, announced today that it has made an investment in Furlani Foods (“Furlani” or the “Company”) in partnership with the Kawaja family. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For nearly 30 years, Furlani has had a rich heritage of making great quality specialty garlic breads for distribution to North America’s leading retailers and foodservice operators. The Company offers consistent, homemade-tasting products across a diverse offering, including garlic Texas toast, garlic bread, cheese bread,  breadsticks, and garlic knots. Furlani’s unique production capabilities have made the Company a primary choice for national retailers for both signature branded and private label items. The Company operates out of three state-of-the-art bakeries located in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, as well as Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

“Furlani represents decades of tradition and quality as a supplier of branded and private label frozen garlic breads in North America,” commented Ryan Schweet, Partner at e2p. “We are excited to partner with Jonathan Kawaja and the entire Furlani team. Garlic-based frozen specialty breads is a solid, growing category, and we believe Furlani holds a strong, reputable position in the space. Jonathan and the entire management team have led Furlani to the forefront of the category and have successfully fostered a collective, collaborative corporate culture. We look forward to supporting them in the Company’s next stage of growth.”

Jonathan Kawaja, Furlani CEO, commented, “The Furlani team feels immense pride in the company’s growth. This success is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication. Since the time my father, Paul Kawaja, founded the business, we have built lasting relationships with our customers. We believe that leveraging e2p’s industry knowledge and operational expertise will allow us to further support the future plans of our customers. We look forward to continuing the tradition of producing “Good Mood Foods” which began decades ago.”

Mayer Brown LLP acted as legal counsel, and FTI Consulting as transaction advisor for e2p.

Kroll Corporate Finance Canada acted as financial advisor to Furlani Foods.