Dow Jones Newswires | TreeHouse Foods Inc. expects sales of
private-label food to keep growing and hopes to make an acquisition in
that space by the middle of next year, said Chief Executive Sam Reed in
an interview.

Reed said that any acquisitions the company makes would be within the
private-label food industry and that its current lines of credit allow
it to go for a deal of up to $200 million.

In December, the manufacturer of private-label products announced it was purchasing Sturm Foods, another private-label maker of hot cereal and powdered soft drink mixes, for $660 million. TreeHouse makes sauces, canned soup and salad dressing, among other products.

The company says it expects private-label food products to keep growing even as consumer spending bounces back.

“While there will be more disposable income, you’ll see the growth of private label foods will continue on the same steady course,” said Reed.

Credit Suisse analyst Robert Moskow recently noted that private-label food showed sales growth of 4.2 percent in January and 3.2 percent volume growth, based on Nielsen data. That was a deceleration from 4 percent volume growth in January but still strong, Moskow said.