Mama’s Creations Earnings: Revenue Surges on Crown One Acquisition & Strong Organic Growth
- Hardik Shah
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
TL;DR
Revenue Strength: Net sales up 50% YoY to $47.3M, driven by Crown One acquisition and ~20% organic growth.
Margin Trends: Gross margin expanded to 23.6%, aided by operational efficiency and chicken cost tailwinds.
Forward Outlook: Integration synergies, new retail wins, and demand shift toward deli-prepared foods support continued growth.
Business Overview
Mama’s Creations, Inc. is a diversified ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat prepared foods company specializing in meatballs, chicken entrées, deli salads, olives, grain and vegetable sides, and premium refrigerated proteins. Its multi-brand portfolio includes:
MamaMancini’s: All-natural, USDA-approved prepared meals and proteins.
T&L Creative Salads / Olive Branch: Gourmet salads, olives, and savory deli items for retail and foodservice channels.
Crown One Foods (acquired 2025): USDA and Safe Quality Food (SQF) certified manufacturer of artisanal proteins and premium meal solutions.
The company sells primarily through grocery retail, club stores, delis, and foodservice, with a growing national footprint across the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, and West.
Mama's Creations Earnings - Q3 FY2026
Revenue
Net sales: $47.3M, up from $31.5M (+50%).
Drivers:
Acquisition of Crown One
Robust double-digit organic growth across legacy business
Strong geographic performance across all regions
Trade incentives and promotions totaled $1.0M, consistent with a strategic shift toward targeted trade spending.
Margins
Gross profit: $11.1M (vs. $7.1M prior year)
Gross margin: 23.6%, up from 22.6%
Efficiency improvements across the manufacturing network
Lower chicken commodity costs
Partially offset by lower-margin Crown One revenue, which management expects to bring up to mid-20% range over time.
Operating Expenses
OpEx: $10.3M (21.8% of revenue), up from $6.6M
Includes $1M in non-recurring acquisition-related expenses related to Crown One.
Profitability
Net income: $0.54M, up from $0.41M
EPS: $0.01 (basic and diluted)
Adjusted EBITDA: Up 118% YoY to $3.8M (from transcript narrative).
Year-to-date net income: $3.05M.
Cash, Debt & Liquidity
Cash & equivalents: $18.1M, up from $7.2M at fiscal year start
Total debt: $6.4M, up modestly from $5.1M
Strengthened balance sheet driven by:
Improved profitability
Working capital optimization
Private placement executed alongside the Crown One acquisition
Forward Guidance
While formal numeric guidance is not issued, management commentary signals:
Expectation that Crown One gross margins will be lifted to corporate averages (mid-20s%) within 12 months.
Clear runway for continued double-digit organic growth given retail wins, club channel expansion, and rising deli-prepared food demand.
FY2027 planning incorporates larger scale procurement, especially in chicken, which may enhance cost structure.
Risks & Opportunities
Opportunities:
Category shift toward grocery-prepared meals over restaurant channels
Cross-selling across expanded customer base
Scale-driven procurement leverage (chicken, beef, packaging)
Efficiency gains from upcoming single-ERP migration
Risks:
Commodity volatility (especially beef)
Integration execution risks for the Bayshore/Crown One facility
Promotional intensity and retailer negotiation dynamics
Macroeconomic pressure on consumer spending
Operational Performance
Integration & Synergy Capture
The acquisition of Crown One (Bayshore facility) is materially reshaping capacity and scale:
100% of Bayshore procurement centralized within three months
Beef costs reduced double digits in month one post-acquisition
Production reallocation across East Rutherford, Farmingdale, and Bayshore unlocking capacity and reducing overtime
Early progress toward “One-Plant, Three-Location” operational model
CEO Adam Michaels: “In three short months, you can no longer see where one plant begins and the other ends — we are one plant, delivering on our one-stop-shop strategy.”
Supply Chain & Cost Initiatives
Freight expenses reduced 30 basis points, aided by denser freight and better material planning
Chicken throughput up nearly 40% YoY while reducing overtime by 400 bps
Finalizing long-term procurement agreements for 2026 to stabilize input costs
Technology & Systems
Seamless IT integration post-acquisition
6-month roadmap toward transitioning all facilities to a single ERP, improving real-time analytics and planning
Segment Performance Snapshot
Chicken-based products: Strongest category, benefiting from favorable commodity trends
Club channel: Notable growth via national Costco MVM rollout
Prepared meals & deli sides: Expanding distribution with new national retailers such as Target and Food Lion
Market Insights
Category Dynamics
Consumer behavior continues to shift toward deli-prepared foods, replacing restaurant trips:
Share of shoppers substituting restaurant meals with deli-prepared foods has more than doubled since 2017
Fully cooked meats grew 4.8% year-over-year
Food-at-home category exceeds $52B, benefiting brands offering convenience + value
CEO Adam Michaels: “Consumers aren’t choosing between brands inside the restaurant channel — they’re choosing between the restaurant channel and grocery-prepared foods.”
Retailer Trends
National retailers increasingly demand turnkey, labor-saving deli solutions
Retail buyers exhibit strong response to data-driven velocity and items-per-customer (AIC) expansion strategies
Digital amplification via Instacart, Walmart search, and Publix proximity marketing meaningfully lifts awareness
Consumer Behavior & Sentiment
Key shifts observed:
Value + convenience is the winning proposition
Consumers seek freshness, speed, and family-friendly meal options
Online grocery behavior continues to drive trial, with Instacart serving as a strong funnel for new customers
Loyalty deepens when brands deliver restaurant-quality outcomes at grocery prices
Management reports strong engagement across income cohorts, with middle-income shoppers showing the sharpest trade-down from restaurants.
Strategic Initiatives
Product Innovation & Rollouts
Expansion of Meals for One (MFOs) and new panini offerings
New salads, sweet potatoes, and tortellini SKUs across Publix and Fresh Market
Costco MVM rollout driving national brand visibility
Customer Expansion
Target: 2 branded items rolling out to ~1,995 stores
Food Lion: 1,100 stores onboarding branded chicken items
Continuous AIC (items per customer) expansion in existing accounts
M&A & Growth Strategy
The company continues evaluating acquisitions that meet four criteria:
Fair valuation
Strategic alignment
High-confidence integration
Operational synergy
CEO Adam Michaels: “Our platform is operating with more precision, higher throughput, and a stronger growth engine than at any point since I joined Mama’s.”
The Bottom Line
Mama’s Creations delivered a strong quarter marked by accelerating scale, margin expansion, and disciplined integration of its Crown One acquisition. The company’s financial position continues to strengthen, supported by operational efficiencies, robust demand for deli-prepared foods, and meaningful new customer wins.
Three investor insights to watch:
Crown One margin lift toward historical corporate levels
ERP integration and its impact on operational visibility
Sustained organic growth as the brand expands nationally
With strong category tailwinds and a clear execution roadmap, Mama’s Creations is positioned for continued profitable growth into FY2027 and beyond.
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