AUA Private Equity-backed Gourmet Culinary Partners Appoints Senior Management Team and Grows Its Platform With The Acquisition Of Holiday Foods™

New York, NY—March 3, 2020 — AUA Private Equity Partners, LLC (“AUA Private Equity”) on behalf of its portfolio company, Gourmet Culinary Partners, LLC (“GCP”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Holiday Foods™, and the recruitment of a senior executive management team to lead the integration and execution of the GCP platform. The GCP senior executive leadership will work closely with existing divisional leadership teams to execute on the company’s regional and national platform. Holiday Foods™, a developer and marketer of appetizers and hors d’oeuvres with national distribution, was acquired from Schwan’s Company.

AUA Private Equity has completed five acquisitions in the specialty prepared foods segment with a focus on creating the leading manufacturer of appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, breakfast foods, side dishes, soups, sauces, and entrees for the hospitality, banquet, airline, retail, education, and corporate sectors. Gourmet Culinary Partners has created a national footprint that will allow the company to serve national accounts while still maintaining its high touch customer-centric approach at the local level through its operating divisions.

Ronan Minahan, CEO of Gourmet Culinary Partners, commented: “Our aim at GCP is to partner with our customers, both at a national and a local level, to help fuel their culinary success through a shared passion to create on-trend, innovative, consistently high quality, real food that delivers authentic experiences. We are delighted to have Holiday Foods™ join our partnership, allowing all of our customers to benefit from our integrated and growing platform.”

To augment the strength of GCP’s divisional leadership teams, AUA Private Equity has built a seasoned executive leadership team led by Ronan Minahan, formerly the Chief Executive Officer of BRIDOR North America, and prior thereto the former President and COO of ARYZTA Americas. Terra Jacobs, formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Passport Foods, joins as GCP’s CFO. Prior to Passport Foods, Terra was Chief Financial Officer of Sunkist Growers and held numerous senior financial positions at Nestle USA. Julie Cunningham, formerly the VP of Human Resources of Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, has joined as GCP’s SVP of Human Resources. Prior to Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Julie was VP of Human Resources at ARYZTA. Lastly, Robbie Scott, formerly the VP of Operations at Barnana, has joined as GCP’s VP of Supply Chain. Prior to Barnana, Robbie was a Director of Strategy & Corporate Development for ARYZTA.

The Holiday Foods™ acquisition was led by Managing Director Kyce Chihi, Vice President Ari David, and Winter Associate, Nicolas Pflaum.

About AUA Private Equity Partners, LLC

AUA Private Equity Partners is a New York based, operationally-focused, lower middle-market investment firm providing strategic capital to companies in the consumer products and services sectors with a particular focus on family-owned businesses or companies benefiting from the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population. AUA Private Equity makes equity investments of $20 to $75 million in companies that generate in excess of $5 million in EBITDA. For more information on AUA Private Equity Partners, please visit www.auaequity.com

About Gourmet Culinary Partners, LLC

Gourmet Culinary Partners is a holding company organized by AUA Private Equity Partners to acquire interests in, and partner with, premium specialty food manufacturers in the U.S. that focus on culinary solutions for customers across the foodservice and retail sectors. For more information on Gourmet Culinary Partners, please visit www.gourmetculinarypartners.com

About Holiday Foods™

Holiday Foods™ is a developer and marketer of appetizers and hors d’oeuvres with national distribution and strong presence among broadline distributors, serving luxury hotels, private clubs, banquet houses, and caterers. For more information on Holiday Foods™, please visit www.holidayfoods.com

CONTACT

Veronica Rodriguez

Veronica.Rodriguez@auaequity.com

212-231-8660

Disclosure: This document should not be construed as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or investment advisory services, and are intended for informational purposes only. Any offer will be made solely pursuant to a Private Placement Memorandum and Subscription Agreement (“Offering Documents”) to qualified offerees. This document in whole or in part will not form the basis of and should not be relied upon in connection with any investment in any fund. To the extent that statements made in this document summarize provisions of the Offering Documents, they are qualified in their entirety by the terms of such Offering Documents. A copy of the Offering Documents must be reviewed and accepted prior to making a decision to invest in any fund. An investment in any fund may result in loss to an investor. Interests in AUA’s private funds are not offered or sold in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, until the requirements of the laws of such jurisdiction have been satisfied.