Popular Pasta Sauce Brand, Ragú Sold to a Japanese Firm

May 22, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Unilever announced that it would sell its pasta-sauces business – Ragú and Bertolli brands to the Japanese firm Mizkan Group, for $2.15-billion.

The Ragú pasta sauce brand was established in New York in 1937, and one year later Unilever bought the sauce product. Ragú is considered the top selling pasta sauce in the United States.

According to Unilever, the Ragú and Bertolli pasta sauce segment has annual sales of more than $600 million. The acquisition includes a sauce-processing plant in Owensboro, Kentucky, and a tomato-processing facility in Stockton, California.

Within the last 18 months Unilever has sold off several big brands including its Wish-Bone salad dressing ($580- million), Skippy peanut butter ($700-million) and its European meat business for an undisclosed amount.

In 2011, the Japan-based firm, Mizkan, bought a U.S. processor of jalapeño peppers and in 2005 bought Holland House, which sells cooking wines and vinegars. Mizkan’s chairman and chief executive Kazuhide Nakano calls the move an “important milestone in our global expansion strategy.”

The deal is expected to close sometime in June.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.