Stock in trade: Cully & Sully acquired by New York organic food group

ARTISAN FOOD company Cully Sully has been acquired by Hain Celestial, an organic products group with headquarters in New York, for an undisclosed amount.

The Cork-based pie and soup company was founded by Cullen Allen and Colum O’Sullivan in 2004, and supplies all major food retailers in Ireland.

Both Mr Allen and Mr O’Sullivan will continue to manage all aspects of the business.

“We are pleased to be expanding our international presence into Ireland with Cully & Sully, a leading chilled brand that has delivered consistent, profitable growth since 2004,” said Irwin Simon, chief executive of Hain Celestial.

Mr Allen said this year he and Mr O’Sullivan began planning where to go next with the business, at which point communication began with Hain Celestial and the deal progressed from there. “It was a two-way street,” he says.

He said the advantages of the deal are twofold: it will allow them to broaden their product offering in the Irish market, while also enabling them to grow their presence in foreign markets, including Britain and the US.

Any new products introduced will be in the chilled, ready-made food category and “will only use ingredients that your granny would know”, he said.

The company previously entered the UK market but had come out again, he said. However, with the support of its new parent company, Cully & Sully hopes to make a success of breaking into this market. “A lot of growing the brand becomes about relationships,” he said.

When Cully & Sully expands into the US market, the Hain connection will be a big advantage, he said. He added that Irwin Simon is keen to introduce fresh soups to the US, as this category remains relatively underdeveloped there.

“Everything so far [with Hain] has been fantastic so far. We’re very confident it will continue that way,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for me and Sully to grow the business into a worldwide brand, hopefully.”

Cully & Sully employs about eight people and subcontracts all manufacturing.

Mr Allen declined to discuss the sum paid by Hain for the business.

The most recent results for Cully & Sully Limited show the company’s total shareholders’ funds increased by almost €55,000 in 2010, from €619,000 to €674,000.