Florida Food Products Acquires Comax Flavors

Combined manufacturing capabilities include extraction, fermentation, blending (wet and dry), drying and formulation.
Combined manufacturing capabilities include extraction, fermentation, blending (wet and dry), drying and formulation.

Comax and Florida Food Products (FFP) have agreed that FFP will assume the majority ownership of Comax from the Calabretta family. The Calabretta family will maintain an ownership stake in the business going forward.

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FFP brings a core competency in tea, botanical, coffee and vegetable extraction to Comax, complementing the group’s flavor offerings. The manufacturing capabilities of the combined entity will include extraction, fermentation, blending (wet and dry), drying and formulation.

Peter Calabretta Jr., Comax’s CEO, said, “Comax is the result of 40+ years of dedication to our craft and the hard work of hundreds of our colleagues. We are incredibly proud of the business that we have built and are confident that the Comax legacy will live on as part of the FFP family. We are excited to partner with the FFP, Ardian and MidOcean teams, who share our belief that natural ingredients provide consumers with healthier options while offering our customers high-quality alternatives to traditional, synthetic ingredients. This partnership gives Comax access to new technologies, ingredients, and distribution that will accelerate the existing Comax business and provide more solutions and capabilities for our valued customers.”

Jim Holdrieth, FFP’s CEO, said, “Under the stewardship of the Calabretta family, Comax has grown to become one of the largest providers of natural flavors in the U.S. since its founding in 1977. Comax formulates natural ingredients that replace synthetic flavors and maintains a portfolio of nearly 1,000 natural flavor SKUs. As part of the FFP family, Comax will continue to operate its Melville, NY manufacturing facility, and develop industry leading formulations in its Marlton, NJ R&D facility. The Calabretta family will maintain an equity position in the combined business.” 

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