Japan’s St Cousair buys another US jam maker

Japan’s St Cousair buys another US jam maker

Tue, August 18, 2026 at 4:13 PM GMT+3 2 min read

Japanese food group St Cousair has made another acquisition in the US.

The company has snapped up brand and production assets from Blake Hill Preserves for an undisclosed sum.

Vermont-based Blake Hill was set up in 2010 by British couple Vicky Allard and Joe Hanglin.

Just Food has asked St Cousair if the founders are staying on. At the time of the acquisition, Blake Hill was owned by Mascoma Bank but was being run by Allard and Hanglin, a St Cousair stock-exchange filing stated.

The transaction comes a year after St Cousair bought Oregon-based Kelly's Jelly.

In a separate statement, St Cousair described Blake Hill as a "high-end, premium, grocery brand" selling products including jam, chutneys and marmalade.

The company said the deal gives it access to "wholesale and distribution networks" on the eastern side of the US.

St Cousair, which has its own factory in Oregon, added the acquisition of Blake Hill's production equipment "could strengthen its own plant's operating capacity" and speed up plans to move to a two-shift production system.

Blake Hill's manufacturing plant and retail store are not included in the transaction and are set to be sold to an unnamed third party, St Cousair said.

According to St Cousair's filing, Blake Hill generated sales of $2.6m in 2025. In the year to the end of March, St Cousair generated sales of Y20.6bn ($129m), up 5.8% on the previous 12 months.

The business has steadily expanded its operations in the US through M&A.

In 2023, the company acquired Portlandia Foods, a consumer grocery brand known for organic ketchup and other condiments. A year later, it bought Bonnie's Enterprises, which specialises in cheese-paired fruit jams.

The Oregon-based arm manufactures jam, fruit sauces and beverages.

In Japan, St Cousair's domestic factories make products including jam, gelato and wine.

"Japan's St Cousair buys another US jam maker" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.