Overhill Farms, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a sales and distribution agreement with J.R. Simplot Company which designates Simplot as the exclusive distributor of Overhill Farms products to some of the nation’s largest foodservice accounts.

“We are extremely pleased to forge this alliance with Simplot, which has strong, long-established relationships with leading foodservice chains across the nation,” said James Rudis, Chairman and CEO of Overhill Farms. “We believe the Simplot team’s broad reach and high level of professionalism will accelerate the growth of our increasingly important foodservice business, and that this agreement can be a first step in an expanding relationship with Simplot.”

Mr. Rudis noted that sales to foodservice customers are now the second largest source of revenues for Overhill Farms, after sales to retail customers. He said the company will continue to service its existing foodservice accounts and new foodservice customers who are not among those assigned to Simplot.

With annual sales of approximately $4.5 billion, J.R. Simplot is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. It is a diversified company whose activities range from food production and sales to farming, ranching, mining and fertilizer manufacturing. Simplot, based in Boise, provides high-quality French fries, potato products, fruits, vegetables and other value-added specialty products to the foodservice industry and to major restaurant chains nationwide.

Kevin Storms, President of J.R. Simplot Food Group, noted, “We are extremely excited about the formation of this alliance with Overhill Farms. Leveraging our combined areas of expertise in the food industry will help to provide our customers with an even broader portfolio of high-quality and value-added products. We believe the foodservice industry will undergo dynamic change over the next few years as consumers continue to look for new alternative food choices, and Simplot will be extremely well-positioned to service these needs.”

Mr. Rudis said, “We believe this relationship with Simplot can provide an opportunity in the near term for us to increase our success in expanding the foodservice sector of our business, which is an important part of our growth strategy. This agreement leverages Overhill’s extensive product offerings, product development skills and production capabilities with Simplot’s established business relationships, marketing strength and extensive nationwide sales and broker network.”

Assisting Simplot and Overhill Farms in forming this agreement was 6Pacific Partners, a Los Angeles-based merchant banking firm.

Overhill Farms, based in Vernon, California, is a leading value-added supplier of custom high quality custom prepared frozen foods for branded retail, private label, foodservice and airline customers.