Acirca Acquires ShariAnn's OrganicsAcirca Acquires ShariAnn's Organics

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.--Acirca Inc. announced Oct. 11 that it had acquired ShariAnn's Organics, the second largest U.S. ready-to-eat certified organic soup company, making it the number one organic ready-to-eat soup company. Acirca already owns Walnut Acres, which Acirca relaunched last year.

ShariAnn's founder and chief executive officer, Ann Sinclair, said, "Joining forces with Acirca offers ShariAnn's the unique opportunity to build our brand faster than previously possible." Sinclair will remain as a consultant to Acirca.

This acquisition follows on the heels of Acirca's Oct. 2 acquisition of Mountain Sun, the nation's largest certified organic juice brand. "Organic ready-to-eat soups are one of the fastest growing sectors in the category," said Michael Neuwirth, corporate communications director at Acirca. He added that this move strengthens the Acirca position in the market while supporting the Walnut Acres brand. "I think that the current economic environment is not necessarily bad for the organic industry. In large part, because consumers are telling us they are spending more time at home cooking."

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Neuwirth added that Acirca planned to focus in the near future on integration of the newly acquired companies and corporate brand building strategies.