Shakopee-based Cameron's Coffee sold to a Colombian company for $113 million

Shakopee-based Cameron's Coffee has been sold to a Colombian food conglomerate for $113 million.

Grupo Nutresa S.A., headquartered in Medellín, Colombia, on Wednesday acquired Cameron's holding company, CCDC OpCo Holding Corp. Nutresa purchased the coffee roaster and distributor from Goldner Hawn, a Minneapolis-based private-equity firm.

Cameron's headquarters and operations will remain in Minnesota, Nutresa said in a release.

"Through Cameron's Coffee, Grupo Nutresa strengthens its international presence in a fast-growing and dynamic category, which offers multiple opportunities for sustainable long-term value creation through effective, differentiated innovation," said Carlos Ignacio Gallego, Grupo Nutresa's chief executive.

While Cameron's is best known by shoppers in the Midwest, it distributes throughout the continental 48 states. Cameron's sold $72 million worth of coffee last year, up significantly from $44 million in sales three years ago.

Bill Kirkpatrick, Cameron's chairman and former owner, did not respond to an interview request.

Nutresa owns food and beverage brands throughout the Americas in categories including cookies, meat, ice cream and pasta. It also owns coffee brands in Colombia and Malaysia.

Cameron's was founded in 1978 as a coffee shop in Hayward, Wis. Kirkpatrick bought the coffee company in 1993 when Cameron's had modest distribution and no ambition to grow into a national brand. In 2008, he sold the business and used that money to build its new roasterie and distribution facility in Shakopee.

The brand, lesser known than the national coffee powerhouses, courts consumers by undercutting Starbucks and Caribou by more than $2 per average unit price.

"What incentive do customers have to pick us if there's a Starbucks or Caribou next to it for a similar price?" Kirkpatrick said in a 2016 interview with the Star Tribune.

Nutresa lauded Cameron's expansion efforts beyond the Midwest and sees this as a great way to gain a foothold in the robust U.S. coffee market.

"[Cameron's] has a talented and committed team, with extensive experience in [consumer packaged goods], that has run the company successfully over recent years. Grupo Nutresa is confident that, alongside this group of professionals, we will achieve the objectives set for the company and for Grupo Nutresa in the long term," said Nutresa in a news release.

Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767