Solina, a leader in the global food industry specializing in savory food solutions, has acquired U.S.-based Sokol Custom Food Ingredients, further expanding its presence. This is on the heels of Solina’s December 2024 acquisition of Advanced Food Systems, Inc. (AFS), as the company continues to take a leading role in the region’s food industry.
Sokol supplies custom savory and sweet sauce solutions for the food manufacturing, retail, and food service channels. The acquisition will enhance Solina USA’s sweet sauce capabilities, increase capacity and scale, further strengthen its resilient supply chain, and drive growth.
“Sokol’s business is very complementary to Solina USA’s business, and it also brings a new specialization in sweet sauces to complement our expertise in savory. Like Solina USA, Sokol is a value-added partner to its customers through a unique blend of manufacturing capabilities, innovation, and ideation, led by a culinary-driven R&D Team.”
Anthony Francheterre, Global CEO, Solina
“Leveraging Sokol’s sweet sauce capabilities will round out and enhance our offerings. This acquisition reinforces our commitment to savory sauce solutions while also pursuing the sweet sector, as we focus on being the leading ‘one stop shop’ for liquid flavor solutions for our customers.”
Michael Marks, President, Solina USA
Sokol is located near Solina’s Bolingbrook, IL site, continuing to build the company’s central distribution point in the Midwest. This is Solina’s fourth acquisition in the U.S., following Asenzya in 2021, Saratoga Food Specialties in 2022, and AFS in 2024. Mark Duffy, Regional CEO, of Solina North America, and Michael Marks will lead the integration process, and during this time, Sokol management will provide day-to-day leadership to their team.
“We are pleased to join Solina. Solina is the ideal partner to further accelerate the growth opportunities of our talented people, our important customers, and our overall business strategy. We look forward to collaborating with Solina to cultivate continued and future success at Sokol’s Countryside, IL location. This represents a transformative milestone for Sokol. As Sokol celebrates its 130th anniversary, we are excited to see the business continue to thrive under Solina’s leadership.”
Shawn Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer, Sokol Custom Food Ingredients
Solina is a leading global partner for the food industry, food service, QSR (quick-service restaurants), and nutrition sectors, designing tailor-made ingredient solutions that contribute to the creation of food that is good in every sense of the word; good for people, good for the planet. With 44 production sites and numerous local R&D centers close to its customers, Solina combines culinary and technical expertise that enables the company to design innovative food solutions that excel in taste, functionality, and nutrition.