Ontario-based Enjay Converters has acquired New Method Packaging LLC, an Ohio manufacturer of corrugated and paper-based food packaging whose product lines run squarely through the bakery and pizza carryout channels that convenience and foodservice operators depend on daily. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Deal's Footprint

Founded in 1982 by Neil Miller and headquartered in Springfield, Ohio, New Method designs and converts cake circles, trays and boards, ovenable baking trays, and carryout boxes — formats used heavily by in-store bakeries, pizzerias, and foodservice operators across the U.S. The company operates out of two adjacent buildings: a 97,000-sq.-ft. production facility and a 43,000-sq.-ft. warehouse. Enjay, co-founded in 1983 and operating from a 90,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing plant and a 70,000-sq.-ft. distribution centre in Cobourg, Ontario, sells complementary lines that include cake boxes, paperboard circles, muffin cups, and disposable piping bags to grocery retail chains, independent bakeries, and food processors across North America.

For Enjay, the acquisition means immediate access to a second manufacturing node on the U.S. side of the border — a meaningful supply-chain advantage as operators in the c-store and foodservice segments increasingly demand domestic sourcing redundancy and faster replenishment cycles for high-turn back-of-house consumables like baking trays and carryout boxes.

Leadership Transition

The deal also completes a planned generational handoff at New Method. Kevin Miller, who joined the company in 1982 and has served as president since 2006, will gradually step back from operations; his son Jerad Miller assumes leadership. The full New Method management team and employee roster remain in place and will collaborate closely with Enjay's team — a continuity structure that packaging buyers and distribution partners typically want to see confirmed before shifting program commitments.

Montréal-based Champlain Financial Corporation provided financial support to Enjay in completing the transaction.

Channel Context

Bakery and pizza packaging sits at a meaningful intersection for the c-store channel. Grab-and-go bakery has been among the fastest-growing fresh-food subcategories at convenience retail over the past three years, and proprietary pizza programs — from roller-grill slices to made-to-order pies — now anchor the foodservice programs at major chains and regional operators alike. Reliable sourcing of ovenable trays, carryout boxes, and cake boards directly affects throughput and presentation quality at the store level. Consolidation among specialty converters like Enjay and New Method tends to give operators fewer but larger, more capable supply partners — a dynamic consistent with broader foodservice packaging trends playing out across the channel.

For operators evaluating their own back-of-house packaging programs, a combined Enjay–New Method entity with dual-country manufacturing and aligned SKU sets represents a more integrated sourcing option than either company offered independently.

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.