Special Report MANUFACTURING: FOOD & BEVERAGE
First Choice Ingredients finds the right fit with Royal DSM BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer JIM PEKAR’S DREAM was always to build First Choice Ingredients into a company with $100 million in annual revenue. When he agreed to sell the company to the Dutch firm Royal DSM at a multiple of around 20-times earnings, First Choice was on pace to deliver $75 million in sales this year and Pekar could see the path to hitting the $100 million target. Based in Germantown, First Choice ferments and blends dairy products into clean-label dairy and dairy-based savory flavorings. From salad dressings to soups to restaurants, there’s a good chance you’ve eaten something recently that includes its products. First Choice has also found traction in plant-based products, helping to further spur its growth.
Cheese is added to a vessel at First Choice Ingredients in Germantown. The company makes dairy concentrates in pastes, liquids and powders.
But the possibility of tax changes, including on capital gains, following the 2020 election led Pekar, like many other business owners, to take a closer look at selling the business.
Selling now also gives First Choice a better chance to achieve Pekar’s even bigger vision for the company he started in his basement in 1994. “My grand number has always been $500 mil-
Investing in What Matters To You | To Your Business | To Your Employees For over 50 years, we have been invested in the success of your family, your business and your life. Because what matters most is doing what’s right – for our customers, our associates, and our Wisconsin communities. Visit us at our new Cathedral Place location or learn more at JohnsonFinancialGroup.com.
Products and services offered by these Johnson Financial Group companies: Johnson Bank, Johnson Wealth Inc. and Johnson Insurance Services, LLC. 30 / BizTimes Milwaukee DECEMBER 13, 2021
