Perdue Farms this week announced the acquisition of Niman Ranch as part of the poultry giant's continued foray into all-natural meats.
Perdue agreed to buy Niman Ranch and parent company Natural Food Holdings for an undisclosed amount. NFH and private equity firm LNK Partners partnered to recapitalize the brand in 2011.
Since then, the companies said, Niman Ranch grew rapidly to become the premier brand of pork, beef and lamb that is free of antibiotics and hormones and raised humanely and sustainably.
Niman Ranch pork, in particular, is supplied to fast-growing burrito chain Chipotle.
"We believe Perdue is the ideal partner to continue the growth of Niman Ranch while also preserving its core brand principles," Perdue CFO Mark Garth said in a statement.
Perdue previously eliminated the routine use of human antibiotics in chicken production and earlier this summer said that more than half of its animals would be raised with no antibiotics whatsoever.
The Niman Ranch purchase will also compliment Purdue’s 2011 addition of Coleman Natural Foods, now the largest U.S. organic chicken producer.