Shearer's Foods

What Shearer's Foods does

Shearer's Foods is a North American snack food manufacturer founded in 1974 and headquartered in Massillon, Ohio. The company operates 14+ manufacturing plants and 100+ production lines across the United States and Canada, including facilities operated under the Super-Pufft brand. Shearer's is the largest supplier of private brand salty snacks and the second-largest supplier of private brand cookies and crackers in North America. Its product portfolio spans three core categories — salty snacks (potato chips, tortilla chips, popcorn, extruded snacks, kettle-cooked products), cookies (wire cut, sandwich crèmes, crème wafers, animal cookies, ginger snaps, vanilla wafers), and crackers (saltines, oyster crackers, wheat crackers).

The company operates under two primary business models. The first is private brand manufacturing, in which Shearer's produces snack products under grocery retailers' and mass merchants' private label brands, supported by category leadership and brand strategy services. The second is co-manufacturing, in which Shearer's produces snack foods for national brand owners, providing manufacturing capacity, geographic reach, and quality systems. All facilities are GFSI-certified under SQF Food Safety and Quality modules, and operations include automated packaging lines and an ERP modernization program built on a Boomi integration layer (implemented with RSM Canada LLP).

Shearer's is owned by private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, which acquired the company in February 2024 following a prior ownership period under Wind Point Partners (2012). Revenue is generated through B2B sales engagements and customer-specific supply agreements; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company employs more than 5,000 people across North America and is actively expanding capacity with a $100M Moraine, Ohio facility expected to be fully operational in 2026.

Name

Shearer's Foods

Legal name

Shearer's Snacks, LLC

Website

http://shearers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Shearer's Foods is a North American snack food manufacturer operating 14+ plants and 100+ production lines, the largest private brand salty snacks supplier and second-largest private brand cookies/crackers supplier in North America, serving grocery retailers, mass merchants, and national brand owners via private label manufacturing and co-manufacturing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Snack Food Manufacturing

NAICS

Snack Food Manufacturing (31191), Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing (311821), Other Snack Food Manufacturing (311919)

SIC

Cookies & Crackers (2052), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Pretzels & Salted Snacks (CRADABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crackers, Biscuits & Grain Snacks Manufacturing (savory biscuits, crispbreads) (AFAKABAH), Specialty Snack Foods Manufacturing (Ethnic/Regional, Gourmet, Functional) (AFAKAIAO)

Keywords

• Private label snacks
• Snack food manufacturing
• Co-manufacturing services
• Salty snacks production
• Cookies and crackers

Headquarters

HQ city

Massillon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Private Brand Manufacturing: Shearer's manufactures snack foods under retailers' private label brands. The company collaborates with customers to develop products and grow their brand, supported by category leadership insights. This is described as one of two primary business models alongside co-manufacturing.
2. Co-Manufacturing: Shearer's manufactures products for some of the nation's largest and most well-known national brands. The company provides capacity, nationwide footprint, and expertise to manufacture snacks efficiently while meeting quality and safety standards.
3. Private Label Production (PE-Backed Expansion): Following acquisition by Clayton Dubilier & Rice in February 2024, Shearer's operates as a private-label snack manufacturer within the private label sector, projected to reach $43.11 billion by 2030.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Shearer's Foods manufactures snack products including salty snacks (potato chips, tortilla chips, popcorn, cheese curls/puffs, hard taco shells), cookies (wire cut, sandwich crèmes, crème wafers, animal cookies, ginger snaps, vanilla wafers), and crackers (saltine, oyster, snack, thin wheat) primarily as private label products for grocery retailers and mass merchants, and as co-manufactured products for national brand companies across North America.

Product overview

Shearer's Foods is a snack food manufacturing company operating as a platform of three core product categories—salty snacks, cookies, and crackers—alongside private brand and co-manufacturing service offerings. The salty snacks portfolio includes Traditional Potato Chips (flat, ripple, and wavy), Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips, Sheeted Tortilla Chips, Corn Chips, Popped Popcorn, Cheese Curls and Puffs (single- and twin-screw extrusion), Hard Taco Shells, and Pop Chips. The cookies portfolio encompasses Wire Cut Cookies, Sandwich Crèmes, Crème Wafers, Animal Cookies, Ginger Snaps, and Vanilla Wafers. The crackers portfolio includes Saltine Crackers, Oyster Crackers, Snack Crackers, and Thin Wheat Crackers. The company operates as both a private brand producer (manufacturing products under customer brand names) and a co-manufacturer (producing for national brands). Acquired brands include Super-Pufft, Lance Private Brands, Medallion Foods, and Barrel O' Fun. All facilities are GFSI-certified under the SQF Food Safety and Quality modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grandma Shearer's: Brand logo introduced in 1983 to honor Rosemary Shearer
• Super-Pufft
• Shearer's
• Thin & Crispy
• Brent and Sam's
• Vista
• Riceworks

Products and services

• Salty Snacks Manufactured salty snack product line including traditional potato chips, kettle-cooked potato chips, sheeted tortilla chips, corn chips, popped popcorn, cheese curls and puffs, hard taco shells, and pop chips. Produced for grocery retailers under private label brands and for national brand companies under co-manufacturing agreements across North America.
• Cookies Manufactured cookie product line including wire cut cookies, sandwich crèmes, crème wafers, animal cookies, ginger snaps, and vanilla wafers. Produced for private label retail customers and as co-manufactured products for national brand companies. Shearer's is the second-largest supplier of private brand cookies in North America.
• Crackers Manufactured cracker product line including saltine crackers, oyster crackers, snack crackers, and thin wheat crackers. Produced under national brand equivalent and value quality standards for private label and co-manufacturing customers.
• Private Brand Manufacturing B2B service where Shearer's produces snack products under the customer's brand name, collaborating on product development, brand strategy, and category leadership insights for grocery retailers and mass merchants.
• Co-Manufacturing B2B co-manufacturing service producing snacks for national and well-known brands using Shearer's nationwide footprint, manufacturing capacity, and food safety/quality expertise.

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest supplier of private brand salty snacks in North America
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RSM Canada LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerRSM Canada LLP served as the implementation partner for Shearer's ERP modernization project after 20+ years on legacy systems. RSM led structured AI approach workshops and implementation, with Shearer's cited as a case study for mid-market AI adoption. Nearly half of RSM's clients are private equity-backed requiring hard ROI accountability.
• BoomicoreTechnology or IntegrationBoomi served as the integration layer for Shearer's ERP modernization, replacing legacy systems after 20+ years. The Boomi integration platform enabled data connectivity across Shearer's 16 plants as part of the digital transformation initiative.
• Local Development Agencies (Ohio)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal development agencies in Ohio worked to support the Moraine facility project, which was designed to replace jobs lost when the former GM plant closed. The project was supported by $12.5M in federal New Markets Tax Credits.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TreeHouse Foods: TreeHouse Foods is a leading private label food and beverage manufacturer serving retail, foodservice and industrial customers across North America. It is the closest direct peer to Shearer's given the shared private-label platform model and overlapping snack/grocery categories, though TreeHouse is more diversified across center-store categories.
• Utz Brands: Utz Brands is a publicly traded salty snack manufacturer producing potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks and popcorn under branded and private label portfolios. Comparable to Shearer's on salty snack product mix and co-manufacturing exposure, though Utz is more brand-led and smaller in scale.

Broad incumbents

• Frito-Lay (PepsiCo): Frito-Lay is the dominant North American salty snack manufacturer (Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos) and a key Shearer's co-manufacturing customer/competitor. Comparable on salty snack product overlap but operates at vastly larger scale with branded leadership rather than private label focus.
• Mondelez International: Mondelez is a global snacks giant (Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Ritz, Triscuit, BelVita) with deep presence in cookies and crackers. Comparable to Shearer's on the cookies/crackers product category and as a customer/competitor in private label, though Mondelez is a branded multinational with much broader scale.
• Snyder's of Hanover / Cape Cod / Kettle Brand (Campbell Snacks): Campbell Snacks includes Snyder's of Hanover pretzels, Cape Cod potato chips and Kettle Brand kettle chips following the Snyder's-Lance acquisition. Comparable to Shearer's across the salty snack spectrum including direct product overlap in kettle chips, pretzels and potato chips, though operated within a broader branded portfolio.
• Post Holdings: Post Holdings is a diversified packaged food holding company with brands and private label operations across cereal, refrigerated retail, foodservice and pet food. Comparable to Shearer's as a roll-up acquirer of food brands with private label exposure, though more diversified across food categories.
• Pladis Global: Pladis Global is a UK-based global cookies and crackers manufacturer (McVitie's, Carr's, Jacob's) with growing North American private label presence. Comparable to Shearer's on the cookies/crackers category and B2B private label model, though primarily operating outside North America.

Regional players

• Old Dutch Foods: Old Dutch Foods is a privately held family-owned salty snack manufacturer with strong regional presence in the Upper Midwest and Canada. Comparable to Shearer's on product mix (potato chips, pretzels, popcorn) and private label capabilities, though smaller in scale and geography.
• Better Made Snack Foods: Better Made Snack Foods is a family-owned salty snack manufacturer based in Detroit with regional Midwest distribution. Comparable to Shearer's on potato chip and extruded snack manufacturing, though much smaller and regionally focused rather than national.

Emerging players

• Calbee North America: Calbee North America is the US subsidiary of Japanese snack giant Calbee, focused on baked and fried snacks including Harvest Snaps and pea-based crisps. Comparable to Shearer's as a snack manufacturer targeting better-for-you positioning, though more emerging and niche in the North American market.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/embed/fWqFxUlAE54?feature=oembed
• Xx.com/shearers_foods
• Facebookfacebook.com/ShearersSnacks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shearer's Foods