Sara Lee Frozen Bakery parts with Van’s Foods business

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Sara Lee Frozen Bakery parts with Van’s Foods business

13 May 2026

Annie Hollon

Annie Hollon is a journalist, copywriter and social media strategist from the Dallas, Texas area. She found a love for magazine writing during her time at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in public relations and English. Beyond writing, you can find her expanding her library, attempting to teach herself the guitar and trying new hobbies.

RIDGELAND, MS — Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, part of the Kohlberg portfolio, announced the sale of its Van’s Foods business to Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg company in the US. Van’s will keep operating under its existing brand name after the acquisition.

“Van’s is an exciting and highly complementary addition to our portfolio,” said Sherman Miller, president and CEO of Cal-Maine Foods. “We believe this acquisition will further our diversification strategy by expanding our reach in prepared foods consumer-facing retail. We see meaningful opportunities to drive growth, unlock efficiencies, and innovate in ways that better serve our customers and consumers.”

The Van’s product lineup includes gluten-free waffles and other frozen breakfast offerings. By acquiring this business, Cal-Maine is able to diversify its business model, expand its opportunities to meet shifting consumer preferences and elevate its presence across various distribution channels.

“Van’s is a genuine category leader with a loyal consumer base, and it’s important to us that it has an owner that is best positioned to ensure its continued success,” said Peter Laport, CEO of Sara Lee Frozen Bakery. “We made the decision to divest the brand to sharpen our focus on our strong portfolio of core brands where we’re investing for the long term. Making disciplined decisions about where we compete is part of how we build a better, more resilient business.”

“Making disciplined decisions about where we compete is part of how we build a better, more resilient business.” — Peter Laport | CEO | Sara Lee Frozen Bakery

In addition to enhancing Cal-Maine’s offerings, the deal is also expected to spur other growth avenues. The Van’s brand will benefit from the company’s strategic and operational resources, including, but not limited to, the Cal-Maine distribution network, customer overlap and cross-selling opportunities, and R&D collaboration.

“We are confident Van’s is going to the right home, with an attractive runway ahead, as Cal-Maine brings complementary capabilities to accelerate its growth, particularly around protein and better-for-you nutrition,” Laport said.

This business deal comes months after Laport stepped in as CEO of Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, succeeding Craig Bahner.

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