Cully & Sully bought by US food firm

Cully & Sully, the Cork-based artisan food producer, has been bought by an American company in a move which will allow the brand to expand internationally.

New York-based organic food specialist, Hain Celestial, has bought the Irish company for an undisclosed sum. Hain sees the deal as a way of gaining a foothold in the Irish food market, but said it will also look to start selling Cully & Sully products in Britain and North America.

Hain Celestial already owns one of Britain’s leading premium soup brands, the New Covent Garden Soup Company. The Nasdaq-quoted group’s chief executive, Irwin Simon, said that management is “excited” about expanding its existing brands into Ireland and selling Cully & Sully’s products — particularly its soup range — into both Britain and the US.

Cully & Sully’s founders, Colum O’Sullivan and Cullen Allen, of the famous Ballymaloe House Allen clan, will continue to run the brand from here, although Hain will have 100% ownership.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Allen said that he and Mr O’Sullivan view the move as “very exciting” and are “delighted that it’s happening”.

He said the Hain group, which had sales of over $1bn last year, is “a perfect fit” for the Cully & Sully business and will give it a platform to launch a number of new products — including pastry-based pies and possibly desserts — as well as expanding overseas. “This is the start of an exciting new stage in the life of the Cully & Sully business,” he said.