A Ruiz Foods employs works on a breakfast burrito line. Photo contributed

Dinuba-based Ruiz Food Products, Inc., leading manufacturer of frozen Mexican food products, has announced the asset acquisition of Southern California-based Culinary International, LLC.

Ruiz Foods acquired the assets of the contract manufacturer of ready-to-eat frozen and refrigerated Mexican foods through its subsidiary RG1 Holding Co., LLC.

Culinary International is located in Vernon with a 75,000 square-foot manufacturing facility and a nearby 43,200 square-foot dry goods and cold storage facility.

Ruiz Foods will immediately take over manufacturing operations at the Vernon facility, which will provide the company with additional flexible manufacturing capacity on the West Coast, according to a news release.

“Culinary International has been a respected and valued supplier for over six years and we are very proud of this long-term relationship,” said Dan Antonelli, president and CEO Ruiz Foods. “Their expertise in producing retail and foodservice frozen Mexican products will enhance our capacity for flexible manufacturing on the West Coast. Our commitment to our customers is paramount to our operations and this acquisition will enhance our customer service levels as we leverage our core values of innovation, safety, quality, teamwork, integrity, and respect.”

This acquisition comes just a few months after Ruiz Food’s additional expansion in Texas. In May, Ruiz Foods announced it had plans to establish regional headquarters in Frisco in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, bringing at least 125 jobs to the area by 2026.

There are already employees working in the Frisco offices, and that most employees that are relocating to the Frisco offices should be settled by January 2023.

We have enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership with Ruiz Foods as a co-manufacturer for some of their most important products,” said Robert Sabahat, CEO Culinary International LLC. “Our mutual commitment to food safety and quality will only serve to reinforce their core values and commitments to customer service.”

Ruiz Foods also has a production facility in Denison, Texas.