California Custom Fruits & Flavors (CCFF) has acquired the Custom Nutritional Ingredients (CNI) division of Skjodt-Barrett Foods, a deal that bolsters CCFF's position as a behind-the-scenes formulator for major quick-service restaurant chains. The Irwindale, Calif.-based company, backed by middle-market private equity firm Peak Rock Capital, said CNI will continue operating under the Skjodt-Barrett Foods tradename as a division of CCFF.
What CNI Brings
Founded in 1985, Skjodt-Barrett CNI has spent four decades manufacturing and custom-developing bar layers, fillings, bindings, toppings, and icings for brands, co-manufacturers, and foodservice operators. That back-of-house ingredient expertise directly complements CCFF's existing specialty-flavors and custom-formulation business. CCFF CEO Doug Glade noted that the combined entity already supplies several of the top QSR chains in North America — a footprint that gives the acquisition immediate relevance for operators sourcing differentiated center-of-plate and snack-bar components.
"Skjodt-Barrett's Custom Nutritional Ingredients business has earned its reputation for quality and innovation among the world's leading brands and contract manufacturers," Glade said. "We are excited about our combined capabilities to help leading foodservice operators with new and innovative menu items."
Why It Matters for Foodservice Supply
For convenience-channel foodservice buyers and QSR procurement teams, consolidation at the ingredient-manufacturer level can reshape the supplier landscape. When a specialty formulator absorbs a complementary division, customers typically gain access to expanded capacity and a broader catalog of ready-to-deploy formats — relevant for operators developing better-for-you snack bars, grab-and-go baked goods, or dispensed-beverage toppings that have become a meaningful traffic driver inside the forecourt store.
The deal also reflects a broader trend of private-equity-backed roll-up strategies in the specialty-ingredients segment. Peak Rock Capital Managing Director Michael Graham described the acquisition as "transformative" for CCFF, pointing to accelerated product development as the primary near-term payoff. CCFF has explicitly signaled it will pursue additional acquisitions to extend its value-added manufacturing capabilities, suggesting further consolidation in the custom-ingredient supply chain is likely.
Guy Burton, President of Skjodt-Barrett CNI, said the partnership expands the division's ability to serve customers, suppliers, and employees. The CNI team will remain intact under the Skjodt-Barrett tradename, a continuity move that typically eases customer transition in ingredient-supply relationships built on technical collaboration.
For c-store and QSR operators tracking foodservice supply-chain shifts or evaluating vendors for better-for-you snack programs, the enlarged CCFF-Skjodt-Barrett platform represents a single source for a wider range of custom formulations — from fruit-forward flavor systems to nutritional bar coatings and icing components used across both retail and foodservice channels.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
