FAYETTEVILLE, Ill. – Brothers Dan (Deli Star Corp.) and Tom Siegel (King’s Food Products) have merged their businesses to create a single company serving the foodservice segment. King’s, a Belleville, Illinois-based producer of confectionary fudge and a co-packer of several brands of sauces, dressings and salsas and Deli Star, a producer of high-quality cooked meats, merged on April 1.

The merged company, with common ownership by the families of the brothers, will operate under the Deli Star name, retaining the King’s Food brand name for its key product line of specialty fudge. Deli Star’s facility in Fayetteville, Illinois, will continue producing fresh premium meats for foodservice customers under its Deli Star Classic, Chef’s Edge, Gaucho and Simple Promise brand names. King’s Belleville, Illinois, facility will continue producing fudge, sauces and related products for its foodservice and retail customers.

As part of the partnership, both companies will use Deli Star’s St. Louis, Missouri-based, innovation center to develop new products and processes. A new initiative for the research and development facility includes a focus on expanding development and production of the King’s Food line of fudge for retail and foodservice sale, while supporting company growth plans by offering customers the best protein and sauce solutions in the industry.

Deli
(From left): Andrew Siegel, director of supply chain management; Dan Siegel, chairman of the board; Justin Siegel, president.
 
“King’s Food and Deli Star have been part of our family’s heritage for 25 and 30 years respectively, and we are proud of the success and solid reputation both companies have earned over the years,” said Deli Star president Justin Siegel in a statement. “While reviewing both companies’ growth strategies, and by working with our customers at our St. Louis Innovation Center, our leadership team realized the synergies and opportunities that could be created if we combined operations.”

The new Deli Star Corporation will maintain its present leadership. Justin Siegel will remain the company’s president while Dan and Tom Siegel will continue to serve on the board. Employees of both companies will retain their jobs and King’s Foods employees are being offered enhanced benefits through the merger.

Siegel added, “By allowing Deli Star to serve as an innovation pipeline for development of fresh, never frozen meats, sauces and related products, while leveraging the King’s Food name to bolster the development of our premium fudge line, we will greatly enhance our ability to deliver quality, innovative, clean label products with great value to our customers.”