amaris food group
We are focused on acquiring small to mid-market entities across a variety of niche specialty foods.
leadership
Our leadership team consists of a diverse background of international professionals. Collectively, we bring invaluable knowledge and experience in operations, turnarounds, finance, acquisitions, marketing, direct management, scalability, manufacturing, exit strategies, and fostering absolute growth.
gurjeet cheema, founder
Mr. Cheema holds a degree in technology, with a major in crime & intelligence analysis. His passion has always been food. To him, “the specialty foods industry represents tangible values and the capacity to better the lives of both consumers and the surrounding communities”.
+ gordon e. cummings, chair
Mr. Cummings holds a lifetime of direct transactional and direct management experience with mergers and acquisitions across Canada. Mr. Cummings previously worked as a partner with the now known Ernst & Young, has successfully held executive and director roles in agriculture, seafood, food & beverage, aerospace, and many more industries.
+ greg fallon, board member
Mr. Fallon has served as a director of Manufacturing for Nestle Canada for over a decade. Mr. Fallon has also separately held executive positions in the seafood, dairy, and baked confectionaries industries. In total, Mr. Fallon has over 30 years of operational experience in effectively streamlining & manufacturing food products.
+ norman louie, board member
Mr. Louie most recently served as the CFO of Save-On-Foods Canada, where he oversaw the entry of Walmart into the Canadian grocery market, provided financial support to two major labor negotiations, the acquisition of selected Safeway stores and the development of online grocery sales. During his tenure, the company grew from $2.4 billion to over $4 billion in sales and increased the store count from 96 to 155.
+ Gary O’Brien, Advisory Board Member
Brigadier-General O’Brien (ret.) has recent wartime management experience, from deployment to Afghanistan as the Deputy Commanding General for Combined Security Transition Command of the Coalition forces. Furthermore, in his civilian career, a 30-year track record in manufacturing, at General Dynamics Land Systems, in various positions, from U.S. programs manager to Vice-President Business Development for General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems.
acquisition CRITERIA
We strategically prioritize companies that possess a solid foundation. Our exclusive focus is on enterprises headquartered in the United States of America, and we evaluate them based on the following criteria:
GROWTH.
Growing with the opportunity to add value and effectively scale at a higher level.
CASH FLOW.
Niche specialty food companies with EBITDA or cash flow of up to $10 million.
PEOPLE.
Businesses with operating partners that align with our culture and growth, because, after all, great people working together achieve extraordinary things!