“Oberto’s values, culture, loyal employees and talented management team are an ideal fit for us,” said George Paleologou, president and CEO of Premium Brands. “We have followed and admired the Oberto brand for many years.”

The Oberto acquisition is the third investment Premium Brands has made in Washington, having previously acquired Seattle-based SK Food Group, a manufacturer of sandwiches and snack trays and Hempler Foods Group, a processor of smoked meats based in Ferndale.

Premium Brands portfolio of companies is comprised of meat processors, bakery facilities and seafood firms. Besides Hempler and SK Food Group, they include: Premier Meats, Country Prime Meats, Interprovincial Meat Sales, Belmont Meats, McSweeney’s, Piller’s, Freybe, SJ Fine Foods, McLean Meats, Expresco, Leadbetter, Skilcor, The Meat Factory, Isernio’s, Fletcher’s U.S., Grimm’s, Harvest, Direct Plus, Audrey’s, OvenPride, Bread Garden Go, Hygaard, Quality Fast Foods, Deli Chef, Buddy’s Kitchen, Raybern’s, Creekside Bakehouse, Stuyver’s Bakestudio, Island City Baking, Shaw Bakers, Partners Crackers, Conte Foods, Larosa Foods, Gourmet Chef, Duso’s, Centennial Foodservice, B&C Food Distributors, Shahir, Wescadia, Harlan Fairbanks, Maximum Seafood, Ocean Miracle, Hub City Fisheries, Diana’s Seafood, C&C Packing and Frandon Seafoods.

Oberto, one of the leading manufacturers of beef jerky, was founded in 1918. Headquartered in Kent, Washington, the family-owned company employs about 500 people. The company features the Oberto, Pacific Gold, Pacific Gold Reserve, Lowrey’s and Cattlemen’s Cut brands.

“We are proud of Oberto, its employees and the generations of family members that have contributed to such an iconic and successful business,” said Tom Hernquist, president and CEO of Oberto. “Premium Brands’ entrepreneurial culture and respect for the uniqueness of its individual businesses, combined with its focus on quality, innovation and long-term decision-making are perfect fits for our business.”