Does Kroger Own Turkey Hill In 2024? Surprising Findings

With over 2,800 grocery stores nationwide, Kroger is continuously expanding through major acquisitions. This begs the question – is popular dairy brand Turkey Hill among the many companies now under Kroger‘s growing retail umbrella? After thorough investigation, the answer is more complex than you may think.

A Deep History – And Now, Separate Ways

Founded 85 years ago in Pennsylvania, Turkey Hill Dairy began life as a small milk processing plant. Fast-forward to 1985, and Turkey Hill had grown into a sizable regional brand – attractive enough for national grocery giant Kroger to acquire.

For 34 years, Kroger owned and operated Turkey Hill, helping grow distribution and product lines substantially. However, by 2018, Kroger made the strategic choice to exit the competitive dairy production space, selling off assets piece-by-piece.

The convenience store business went to UK petrol station owner EG Group for $2.15 billion that year. Then, in 2019, Kroger struck a $215 million deal with private equity firm Peak Rock Capital for the Turkey Hill dairy production and ice cream business.

"Kroger‘s Turkey Hill sale signals a focused shift into higher-growth areas like ecommerce and digital promotions as competition intensifies across the grocery sector." – Ajay Jain, Founder, Retail Insight Marketing

And with that, the long-standing Kroger-Turkey Hill relationship uncoupled, allowing each company to follow new, independent strategies.

The Retail Landscapes: Different Playing Fields

With ownership severed, comparing Kroger and Turkey Hill today provides an exercise in contrast. Consider the key differences:

(*Peak Rock portfolio company revenue estimate)

Where Kroger operates retail stores across 35+ states, Turkey Hill is exclusively a food and beverage producer after divesting convenience stores and retailfuel locations during the 2018 & 2019 Kroger deals.

Under Peak Rock Capital, Turkey Hill products continue to appear in stores like Walmart, Target, and Wawa – distributed broadly despite no company supermarket presence.

All this allows Kroger to focus resources on increasing grocery and ecommerce market share through regional chains like Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and Harris Teeter.

And Turkey Hill takes advantage of Peak Rock‘s expertise around scaling niche food brands, rather than supporting extensive retail footprints.

Is An Acquisition Still Possible?

Given this divergence in operating models, most industry experts agree a reunion between the iconic brands is unlikely.

Kroger appears content to grow its empire through consolidating supermarket chains, better positioning national grocery delivery and pickup, and building owned brands.

In fact, Kroger has averaged 9 major grocery store acquisitions per year since 2018 – well beyond needs for an ancillary dairy production arm.

Meanwhile, Peak Rock continues adding specialty food manufacturers into its portfolio, while allowing trusted names like Turkey Hill to operate with autonomy.

The Takeaway: Two Roads Taken

While nothing is certain in business, Turkey Hill finds itself on solid ground even without Kroger‘s backing. In a grocery sphere dominated by national chains, the 85-year dairy darling retains strong market presence under Peak Rock‘s stewardship.

And Kroger, on its quest to rule the grocery realm, has far greater consolidation fish to fry than owning periphery brands like Turkey Hill now.

So shoppers can rest assured that both brands seem right where they need to be. Turkey Hill ice cream isn‘t going anywhere anytime soon – besides maybe into more satisfied customers‘ freezer cases!