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other brands more opportunistically and strategically ,” Jack continues . “ We can explore potential fits for our portfolio and establish whether a relationship would make sense economically . In terms of fit , we ’ re broadly looking for high-margin branded business with a proven track record of brand loyalty . We have certain geographies with very loyal consumer bases and it ’ s important to maintain those relationships while expanding brand presence . This involves further consideration around developing our permanent facilities more locally to service that growing demand . I enjoy this aspect of my day-to-day role ; exploring potential opportunities , assessing their viability and planning for the future .”
Employee engagement is a critical factor for future success : “ We strive to ensure folks are engaged and challenged within a culture of accountability ,” Jack elaborates . “ It ’ s important to have shared values that align with those of the overall business . Again , we ’ ve been blessed with great people and have a very low turnover of staff . We try to support our team in terms of training and development , which fosters a culture of continuous improvement and engagement . We ’ re a flat organization , which I think empowers people to have greater responsibility . We have people in managerial roles , me included , who haven ’ t necessarily had that type of experience before , and it ’ s satisfying when you can build a great team and keep them challenged .
“ We ’ re continuously striving to improve , and that goes for our processes too . In terms of technology , as I mentioned before , we ’ ve transitioned to a new ERP platform and bolt-on software . We ’ re continuing to leverage technology to enhance things like food safety and increase supply chain resiliency . Looking at 2025 , we ’ ll continue to focus on our current product offering and drive volume organically . We ’ ll also be looking to ramp up our in-house manufacturing
capabilities which will certainly lead to a further increase in headcount . However , as far as internal investment is concerned , the biggest investment will remain our people . At the end of the day , our people are the biggest key to success .
“ One benefit of our business is that we ’ re not bound by mandates that would be common to traditional private equity . We were intentional about this from the beginning , knowing that we wanted a capital structure that doesn ’ t force us to sell the business due to a set time horizon , for example . This has become an increasingly popular model within the private capital / family office space , where a buy and build platform allows operating business to thrive and also provides investors with an attractive return profile .
“ We will remain strategic in how we deploy capital ; I believe we ’ ll continue to see attractive assets in the branded food space that will allow us to be opportunistic from an investment standpoint . Whether it ’ s
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