Hicksville, NY-based Top 40 supplier NC Custom (asi/44900) has acquired the assets of Fresh Beginnings (asi/55439), a Valdosta, GA-based food gift supplier that was on track to close its doors at the end of June. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lance Stier, managing partner/CEO and David Miller, president of NC Custom

“We have tremendous respect for the Fresh Beginnings business, and the product quality and taste of their freshly baked goods. We are excited for NC Custom to expand its footprint in the baked goods space,” said David Miller, president of NC Custom and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of the promotional products industry’s most influential people. “This addition complements the success of several recent bakery category offerings, and further solidifies our current position as a market-leading manufacturer in what we see as an untapped segment in the marketplace.”

NC Custom will be relocating Fresh Beginnings’ manufacturing from Georgia to New York with capabilities up and running in time to fulfill holiday 2022 orders. NC Custom CEO Lance Stier noted some key personnel will also be joining. Fresh Beginnings will continue going to market under that name.

David Miller, president of NC Custom, talks with ASI Media’s Christopher Ruvo about the acquisition of Fresh Beginnings.

Fresh Beginnings was scheduled to close by the end of June. But after seeing an ASI Media report on the forthcoming closing, Stier decided to contact the Georgia-based company about a potential acquisition deal. Things came together from there. “We love the product. We love the brand. We didn’t want the industry to lose that,” Stier told ASI Media.

The addition of the Fresh Beginnings brand to the NC Custom roster opens up new avenues of custom manufacturing solutions for NC Custom and its customers, including cookie kits, edible/hard good combinations, and mailers for everyday and holiday initiatives, executives said. NC Custom will also be adding Fresh Beginnings’ individual fulfillment and program support, which will allow customers to create one-off drop shipments for events like client/employee anniversaries, birthdays, new accounts, customer appreciation and sales follow-up. Further, NC Custom expects to use Fresh Beginnings’ custom-engineered platform for single-order fulfillment to support its expansion of program and drop-shipment business.

“Fresh Beginnings and NC Custom share common values – a passion for customer service and made-in-the USA product excellence,” said Stier. “Since the company’s founding, the business has been laser-focused on delivering a top-notch customer experience – we are excited to ‘bake it happen’ by building upon that legacy plus add a range of our products to create new, unique and exciting experiences.”

Fresh Beginnings, known for its cookies, brownies, pretzels and chocolate-dipped treats, was most recently part of parent company CDK Global, an Illinois-headquartered firm that provides technology solutions to the automotive industry.

CDK Global had acquired Fresh Beginnings in 2018 when it purchased the food gift firm’s parent company, ELEAD1ONE (now CDK LEAD), which makes customer relationship management software for automotive dealers. Tony Macrito, director of external communications for CDK Global, said in June that the Fresh Beginnings bakery didn’t fit into CDK’s long-term strategy and business portfolio.

Fresh Beginnings was founded by Hugh and Judy Hathcock back in the 1990s. The initial idea for the business was to provide then promo pro Hugh’s auto dealer clients with gourmet cookies that could be sent to prospects and customers as a way of saying thanks and building relationships. The Hathcocks launched ELEAD in 1999, based on their knowledge of pain points that auto dealership clients faced, which is how a promo food gift supplier came to be under the same ownership umbrella as tech providers to the auto market.

With reported 2020 North American promotional products revenue of $69.9 million, NC Custom ranked 19^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry. Counselor’s 2022 Top 40 list will be revealed later this month.