CHICAGO, IL – August 14, 2020  |  Tilia Holdings (“Tilia”), a Chicago-based private investment firm focused on business-to-business services for the food supply chain, completed its investment in Ellison Bakery, LLC (“Ellison” or the “Company”) on August 6, 2020. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Ellison is a premier bakery solutions provider for the retail, food service, and private label end markets. Founded in 1945, the Company formulates, develops, and manufactures cookies, crunches, inclusions, bars, and other baked goods.

Stephanie Chattillion, Chief Executive Officer of Ellison, and the current executive management team will continue to lead Ellison’s operations. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Tilia in the next phase of Ellison’s growth and value creation,” comments Mrs. Chattillion. “Tilia’s extensive food experience, wealth of knowledge, and alignment of core values made them the clear choice to partner with Ellison.”

Eric Larson, Co-CEO of Tilia who will serve as Chairman of the Board, said, “We are excited to help build upon the legacy that began over seventy years ago when the Ellis family founded Ellison Bakery. Ellison has an excellent reputation with leading food brands that rely on the Company’s bakery solutions.” Johannes Burlin and JD Elder of Tilia have also joined the Board of Ellison.

Johannes Burlin added, “Ellison provides technical expertise and formulation capabilities across a broad portfolio of baked products and inclusions. We look forward to supporting the Company’s continued investment in its organization and service offerings to meet the needs of its growing set of customers.”

Mayer Brown LLP served as legal advisor to Tilia, and Comerica Bank and True West Capital Partners provided debt financing in support of the transaction.

ABOUT ELLISON BAKERY, LLC

Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana and founded in 1945, Ellison Bakery is a premier bakery solutions provider and manufacturer of cookies, crunches, inclusions, and bars for blue chip CPG brands, retailers, and food service.  Ellison has established itself as one of few providers that can offer industrial partners a customized solution, speed to market, and consistency of product allowing their partners to maximize production in their facilities with minimal downtime. For more information, please visit www.ebakery.com.

ABOUT TILIA HOLDINGS

Tilia is a Chicago-based private investment firm whose approach is characterized as Focus, Parity and The Tilia Way. The firm’s Focus is exclusively on business-to-business services for the food supply chain. Through an interdisciplinary approach to investing, Tilia partners with companies providing mission-critical business services that support leading and emerging CPG brands. Tilia’s Parity is the complementary skill set of its team across operations and finance, providing expertise in scaling and growing middle-market companies. This sector-focused, operating-intensive strategy has been cultivated successfully across three-decades. Its governance process – The Tilia Way – emphasizes stewardship in four types of capital: brand, financial, human, and social. For more information, please visit www.tiliallc.com.