March 19, 2018
CHICAGO, IL –Tilia Holdings LLC announces its recent acquisition of Refrig-It, Inc. (Kearny, NJ), a leading provider of outsourced cold chain warehousing and supply chain services for imported nuts, dried fruits, ancient grains, and other low moisture foods. The investment is the firm’s first since its inception in July 2017.
Refrig-It will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its CEO, Brian Doliner. He will oversee the implementation of the value creation plan that he and the Tilia team developed jointly in the months before the transaction and will be a member of the newly formed Refrig-It Board of Directors, where he will be joined by Tilia co-founders Eric Larson and Johannes Burlin.
Tilia’s investment in Refrig-It exemplifies its strategy to invest in technical, outsourced business service providers for the global food economy. The Supply Chain Management Services sector is one of the target sub-sectors Tilia has identified that helps make the global food supply safe, nutritious, and sustainable. In addition to investment capital, Tilia has assembled a team with strategic, operational, financial, and governance expertise to assist small to medium sized companies in achieving their growth potential.
“Over the past 27 years, the Doliner family has built Refrig-It into a superb company by providing exceptional service to their clients,” said Tilia co-founder Eric Larson. “We are excited that Brian and Harvey Doliner chose Tilia to be Refrig-It’s partner for the next stage of its strategic growth plan.”
Before closing the transaction, the Doliners and Tilia worked together to create a growth strategy that will extend Refrig-It’s service offering and geographic coverage for its customers. CEO Brian Doliner commented, “We are pleased to welcome the Tilia Team into the Refrig-It family. Armed with Tilia’s financial resources, operational expertise, and most importantly, the values both firms share, we have already begun implementing the strategy that will define the next chapter of Refrig-It’s story.”
Refrig-It’s services address a growing demand in the United States for a variety of low moisture foods imported from overseas markets. For more than a quarter century, Refrig-It has built a base of customers whose businesses are thriving as many Americans shift to diets that feature these health-promoting foods.
Tilia is honored to join the Doliners in a partnership to help Refrig-It serve this rapidly expanding market.
Refrig-It is a niche provider of cold chain warehousing and supply chain services for low moisture foods and branded, imported products. The company was founded 25+ years ago and is headquartered in Kearny, New Jersey with an additional facility in Newark, New Jersey.
Tilia is a Chicago-based private investment firm focused exclusively on making control investments in the evolving “farm-to-fork” segment of the global food supply chain. Tilia partners with growing, middle market companies who provide business services across the food supply chain and support leading, emerging and private-label CPG brands. The firm’s sector focused strategy is a successful approach to investments that spans three decades. Tilia believes its deep understanding of operations, its subject matter expertise in the food chain, and its disciplined approach to value creation uniquely position the firm to scale business services companies in the lower middle market. Through a value creation & governance model emphasizing stewardship, Tilia builds distinctive growth companies that enhance safety, nutrition & sustainability in the food supply chain. For more information, please visit www.tiliallc.com.