Hormel Health Labs, and its product lineup for health care centers, special care facilities and more, has been acquired by Fresno-based Lyons Magnus. Hormel Health Labs image

A former division of Hormel Foods Corp. will operate out of Fresno as part of an acquisition by Lyons Magnus LLC.

Lyons Magnus, owned by private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners, announced on Wednesday that it completed the acquisition of Hormel Health Labs, LLC, from Minnesota-based Hormel Foods Corp., a Fortune 500 company.

Lyons Magnus, which produces and markets a wide variety of products for global foodservice and food ingredient channels, will establish Lyons Health Labs in Fresno as a business unit of the company.

Lyons Health Labs will emerge as a leader in nutritional and healthy products for dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), unintended weight loss, digestive health and hydration, according to a news release. It will continue to market best-selling products including ReadyCare, Thick & Easy, MightyShakes and Magic Cup.

The products — frozen desserts, shakes, dairy drinks, thickeners and more — are sold to health care centers, special care facilities and other providers.

Jim Davis, CEO of Lyons Magnus, said in a statement, “We are thrilled to formally launch Lyons Health Labs. With the addition of Hormel Health Labs to our innovative nutrition and health business, we are entering the next phase in our journey to evolve and grow our core businesses. The combination of both companies’ broad portfolio of products, resources, capacity, and people immediately establishes Lyons Health Labs as a health and nutrition leader, poised to meet the needs of today’s foodservice operators and also be a major player in tomorrow’s innovations. We are pleased to welcome the Hormel Health Labs team and launch this exciting new venture.”

With offices in New York and San Mateo, Paine Schwartz made a strategic investment in Lyons Magnus in 2017. In 2019, Lyons Magnus announced the acquisition of an aseptic products manufacturer in Wisconsin, TRU Aseptics.

In August, another food company, Schreiber Foods, purchased the TRU Aseptics business from Lyons Magnus. Public real estate records showed that Schreiber paid Lyons Magnus $20.4 million for the offices, manufacturing operations and warehouse, reported the Beloit Daily News.

A Lyons Magnus representative declined to answer questions about the local impact of the merger.