Ebro Foods, S.A. (; ), formerly Ebro Puleva, is a Spanish

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

company. Ebro Foods is the world's largest producer of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and the second biggest producer of

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

(its Panzani brand is a market leader in France). The company's head office is in Madrid.

History

In 2005, Ebro Foods sold Catesa Foods for $37.9m. Catesa Foods specializes in tropical fruits, flowers, and ornamental plants on

Tenerife Island Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

. Ebro was previously the largest manufacturer of

value-added Value added is a term in economics for calculating the difference between market value of a product or service, and the sum value of its constituents. It is relatively expressed by the demand curve, supply-demand curve for specific units of sale. ...

dairy product Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

s in Spain, until it sold this business unit to

Lactalis Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

in March 2010 for €630 million. It also was Spain's largest

sugar producer The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, about 80% of sugar is extracted from sugar cane, grown predominantly in the tropics, and 20% from sugar beet, grown mostly in ...

prior to the

divestment In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...

of that division to the

British Sugar British Sugar plc is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods and the sole British producer of sugar from sugar beet, as well as medicinal cannabis. History Early history The company was formed as the British Sugar Corporation in 1936, wh ...

subsidiary of

Associated British Foods Associated British Foods plc (ABF) is a British multinational food processing and retailing company headquartered in London, England. Its ingredients division is the world's second-largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major pr ...

in 2009. Ebro Foods operates in 23 countries worldwide. In December 2019, 55,000 pounds of rice from its brands, including Minute Rice and Mahatma Rice were donated to the Houston Food Bank.

International development

Ebro Foods entered the U.S. market in 2004 when it acquired Houston-based Riviana Foods, which purchased American Rice in 2011 and now produces brands such as Mahatma, Success, Minute Rice, Water Maid and several

private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

s. In 2006, Ebro acquired

New World Pasta The New World Pasta Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ebro Foods, was a retail branded pasta manufacturer headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The company was formed in 1999 when the Hershey Company's pasta business was divested to a ...

, producer of Ronzoni, San Giorgio and other products, and which is also now under the Riviana corporate umbrella. Riviana Foods, New World Pasta, and American Rice united under the Riviana Foods name in 2017 to become the largest manufacturer of rice and second-largest manufacturer of pasta in the U.S. Ebro Foods owns the Puleva Biotech subsidiary, which engages in the

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

of new

functional food A functional food is a food claimed to have an additional benefit beyond just nutrition (often one related to health promotion or disease prevention) by modifying the horticulture, cultivation of the native food or by food additive, adding ingr ...

products. It has a

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

production

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with Abengoa.

Riviana Foods

Riviana Foods Inc. is a subsidiary of Ebro Foods, S.A. When it merged with American Rice, Inc. and New World Pasta Co. in 2017, it became the largest manufacturer and marketer of rice products and second largest of pasta products in the United States. Its estimated sales revenue at the time was $1.5 billion. Riviana's brands include Minute Rice and Ronzoni pasta.

History

Early years

Riviana dates back to the 1911 founding of the Louisiana State Rice Milling Company, Inc., a consortium of thirty rice mills led by Frank Godchaux Sr. By 1931, the Louisiana State Rice Milling Company, Inc. introduced consumer-friendly packaging.

Mergers and acquisitions

In 1965, Louisiana State Rice Milling Company merged with River Brand Rice Mills, Inc to form Riviana Foods Inc. After being acquired by

Colgate-Palmolive The Colgate-Palmolive Company, commonly known as Colgate-Palmolive, is an American multinational corporation, multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in ...

in 1976, and then sold back to the Godchaux family in 1986, Riviana became a publicly traded company on NASDAQ. Riviana was most recently acquired by Ebro Foods, S.A. in 2004. In 2006, Riviana acquired Minute Rice, a brand of

parboiled rice Parboiled rice, also called converted rice, easy-cook rice, sella rice, and miniket (as predominantly called in West Bengal and Odisha in India, and in Bangladesh) is rice that has been parboiling, partially boiled in the husk. The three basic s ...

, from

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

. In 2011, Riviana Foods Inc. acquired American Rice, Inc., which owned several rice brands, including Comet Rice and Blue Ribbon Rice. In 2017, American Rice, Inc. and New World Pasta merged into Riviana Foods Inc.

Riviana Foods rice brands and products

Carolina Rice

Carolina Rice, founded in 1927, is primarily sold in the northeast United States. Carolina Rice offers many varieties of rice including

white rice White rice is milled rice that has had the husk, bran, and germ removed. This alters the flavor, texture and appearance of the seed; helps prevent spoilage (extends its storage life); and makes it easier to digest. After brown rice is milled ...

, parboiled rice, whole grain

brown rice Brown rice is a whole grain rice with only the inedible outer hull removed. This kind of rice sheds its outer hull or husk but the bran and germ layer remain on, constituting the brown or tan colour of rice. White rice is the same grain without ...

, organic rice, yellow rice,

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, mnomen, psíŋ, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically and is sti ...

basmati rice Basmati () is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice which originates from the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the regions of Nepal, Punjab, Haryana, Sindh and many other states and provinces of India and Pakistan.jasmine rice Jasmine rice (; ; ) is a long-grain variety of fragrant rice (also known as aromatic rice). Its fragrance, reminiscent of ''pandan'' ('' Pandanus amaryllifolius'') and popcorn, results from the rice plant's natural production of aroma compounds, ...

. Most of Carolina Rice's US-grown rice is sourced from Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Texas. Riviana Foods commercializes other rice varieties that are originally grown in Thailand (jasmine rice) and India (basmati rice). It has no connection to the variety of rice called Carolina Gold.

Mahatma Rice

Riviana Foods introduced Mahatma Rice to the United States in 1932, during the Great Depression. Mahatma Rice is a national rice brand, serving all of the domestic United States, while its sister brand Carolina Rice covers northeast distribution from Maine to Washington, D.C. Mahatma Rice offers many varieties of rice, including white rice, parboiled rice, whole grain brown rice,

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

short grain rice, organic rice, yellow rice,

, basmati rice and jasmine rice. Most of Mahatma Rice's US-grown rice is sourced from Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Texas. Riviana Foods commercializes other rice varieties that are originally grown in Thailand (jasmine rice) and India (basmati rice). The rice's mascot was removed from packages in 2020 as it was considered a racist stereotype.

Minute Rice

Minute Rice was founded in 1941. It started as a patented method for precooking and dehydrating rice before being used by the U.S. Armed Forces for G.I. rations during World War II. Minute Rice was eventually introduced to the greater population in 1946 and gained worldwide distribution in 1949. The brand first introduced precooked, parboiled white rice then expanded its product line to brown rice in 1990. Riviana Foods Inc. acquired Minute Rice in 2006 from

. The brand expanded its product line significantly in 2008 when it launched ready-to-serve rice cups, an easy

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...

that could be stored in pantries and microwaved when needed. Today, Minute Rice sells boxed

instant rice Instant rice is a white rice that is partly precooked and then is dehydrated and packed in a dried form similar in appearance to that of regular white rice. That process allows the product to be later cooked as if it were normal rice but with a ty ...

and rice cups in many

rice varieties This is a list of rice cultivars, also known as rice varieties. There are several species of grain called rice. Oryza sativa, Asian rice (''Oryza sativa)'' is most widely known and most widely grown, with two major subspecies (''indica'' and ''jap ...

, and

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechuan languages, Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae, amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are high in prote ...

Success Rice

Riviana Foods Inc. introduced Success Rice in 1977, its rice brand offering parboiled, boil-in-bag rice. The brand's product line includes four varieties of boil-in-bag rice, including white rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, and brown rice. Boil-in-bag rice is made by parboiling rice after it is harvested. In 2017, Success Rice released boil-in-bag tri-color

Adolphus Rice

Adolphus Rice first came to market in 1938 in Houston, TX. Adolphus rice is grown in Texas. It offers whole grain brown rice, gold parboiled rice, and long grain white rice and is sold in Texas.

Blue Ribbon Rice

Blue Ribbon Rice is grown in the US and kosher certified. Blue Ribbon offers three varieties of rice: whole grain brown rice, golden parboiled rice and white rice. Originally purchased by American Rice, Inc. in 1975, Blue Ribbon Rice was acquired by Riviana Foods Inc. when American Rice, Inc. was purchased from Grupo SOS in 2011.

Colusa Rose Rice

Colusa Rose Rice offers Calrose rice, a variety of rice that originates from California.

Comet Rice

Founded in 1902, Comet Rice offers many varieties of rice, such as long grain

, whole grain rice and parboiled rice. Comet Rice is a sister company of Wonder rice. Its rice is grown in the USA. Originally part of American Rice, Inc., Comet Rice was acquired by Riviana Foods Inc. in 2011 when Riviana purchased American Rice, Inc. from Grupo SOS.

Gourmet House

Gourmet House rice offers three varieties of

: cracked, cultivated and quick cooking, all of which are grown in the USA. It was acquired by Riviana Foods in 1999 from

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...

Pear Blossom

Pear Blossom offers Calrose rice, a variety that originate from California. Pear Blossom rice is similar to sticky rice and recommended for use in Japanese or Korean cooking.

RiceSelect

Riviana Foods purchased RiceSelect from RiceTec in 2015. RiceSelect was the consumer business of RiceTec at the time. RiceSelect offers

and

. One of its products is Texmati rice, which RiceSelect claims was the first aromatic rice to be introduced in the USA resembling basmati rice. The rice variety was called Texmati because it was grown in Texas.

River Rice

River Rice is a sister company of Water Maid rice. Its rice is grown in the USA. Its products include medium grain white rice and whole grain brown rice. Both are kosher certified.

Sello Rojo

Introduced in Puerto Rico in 1926, Sello Rojo rice offers short grain rice. Its rice is harvested in California.

Tilda Rice

Tilda Rice was founded in 1970 before originally purchased in 2014 by US group Hain Celestial. Hain Celestial Group sold the company to Ebro Foods in August 2019.

Water Maid

Water Maid rice is a sister company of River Rice. Its rice is grown in the USA. It offers one product, the Water Maid medium grain white rice.

Wonder

Wonder brand rice is a sister company of Comet Rice. Its rice is grown in the US and is kosher certified. It offers one product, the Wonder long grain enriched rice.

Riviana Foods pasta brands and products

Ronzoni

Ronzoni was founded in 1918 as the Ronzoni Macaroni Company. By the 1970s, Ronzoni was the number one pasta in New York. In 1990, Ronzoni was acquired by the Hershey Food Corporation. Ronzoni pasta was then acquired by New World Pasta, which in turn was acquired by Ebro Foods S.A. in 2006. Ronzoni products include classic pasta and innovations like Turmeric pasta and SuperGreens pasta (vegetable pasta). On March 29, 2021, 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, a subsidiary of

Post Holdings Post Holdings, Inc. is an American Fast-moving consumer goods, consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with businesses operating in the center-of-the-store, refrigerated, foodservice, and food ingredient categ ...

, announced that it was acquiring Rozoni from Ebro for $95 million. The acquisition was expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approval.

American Beauty

American Beauty was founded in 1916 after the Kansas City Macaroni and Importing Co. merged with the Denver Macaroni Company. It appears to be a sister company of Ronzoni pasta. Similar to Ronzoni pasta, American Beauty offers several product lines, including classic pasta, gluten free pasta, SuperGreens pasta (vegetable pasta) and Thick & Hearty pasta. It was acquired by Hershey Foods Corporation in 1984 before being sold to New World Pasta, which in turn was acquired by Ebro Foods S.A. in 2006.

No Yolks

No Yolks was introduced in 1976. It was first developed as a no-cholesterol egg noodle, made only with wheat flour, corn flour and egg whites. In 2011, No Yolks was purchased by New World Pasta as part of an acquisition of Strom Products, which also included another Riviana brand, Wacky Mac. In 2017, when New World Pasta, American Rice, Inc. and Riviana Foods Inc. merged, No Yolks became part of Riviana Foods.

Skinner

Skinner was founded in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, NE in 1911. In 1979, Hershey Foods Corporation acquired Skinner, which was eventually sold to New World Pasta and folded into Riviana Foods Inc. Skinner is distributed in the southeast United States. It sells a Texas-shaped pasta.

Creamette

The macaroni, called Creamette, was introduced in 1912 as a new macaroni noodle that had a thinner wall and larger hole. It was manufactured by Minnesota Macaroni Company. Creamette is distributed in 37 states in the United States. Creamette was originally sold to the Borden Company in 1979 before becoming a brand owned by Riviana Foods Inc.

Light 'n Fluffy

Light 'n Fluffy is a pasta brand that specializes in egg noodles. It became a brand owned by Riviana Foods Inc. after the merger with New World Pasta in 2017.

Mrs. Weiss'

Mrs. Weiss' is a pasta brand that specializes in European Hungarian and Ukrainian egg noodles.

Prince

Prince Spaghetti pasta was founded in 1912 when three Sicilian immigrants opened a small pasta shop in the North End of Boston, MA at 92 Prince Street. By 1941, Prince pasta relocated to Lowell, MA. In 1987, Prince pasta was sold to Borden Inc., which was eventually acquired by New World Pasta in 2001. It became one of Riviana Foods Inc.'s brands in 2017 when Riviana merged with New World Pasta.

San Giorgio

In 1914, the Keystone Macaroni Company in Lebanon, PA was renamed San Giorgio. By 1950, San Giorgio went from producing 100 pounds of pasta a day to 400,000 pounds per week. Hershey Foods Corporation acquired San Giorgio in 1966. After Hershey Foods Corp. sold its dry pasta business to New World Pasta in 1998 and New World Pasta merged with Riviana Foods Inc. in 2017, San Giorgio became one of Riviana Food Inc.'s brands.

Wacky Mac

Wacky Mac was created in 1976 as a multi-shaped, tri-colored pasta meant to be used in salads and casseroles. Because of its popularity with kids, a kid-friendly boxed macaroni and cheese called Wacky Mac Macaroni and Cheese Dinner was developed. In 2011, New World Pasta bought Wacky Mac as a part of an acquisition of Strom Products, which also included another Riviana brand, No Yolks. In 2017, when New World Pasta, American Rice, Inc. and Riviana Foods Inc. merged, Wacky Mac joined Riviana Foods Inc.

Financial activity

The company's shares are listed on the

Bolsa de Madrid (; Madrid Stock Exchange) is the largest and most international of Spain's four regional stock exchanges (the others are located in Barcelona, Valencia, and Bilbao) that trade shares and convertible bonds and fixed income securities, and both g ...

References

External links

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Riviana FoodsCarolina RiceMahatma Rice
{{Authority control Manufacturing companies based in Madrid Food and drink companies established in 1998 Companies listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange Food and drink companies based in Madrid Multinational companies headquartered in Spain Pasta companies Spanish companies established in 1998