Sonoma Brands adds to beef jerky empire with deal for Chef’s Cut Real Jerky

Sonoma Brands said Thursday it has acquired a premium beef jerky company to supplement its portfolio beyond the core Krave brand that founder Jon Sebastiani recently bought back from the Hershey Co.

The company said it bought Chef’s Cut Real Jerky Co. for an undisclosed amount. Chef’s Cut was formed by two friends and found success originally by selling premium jerky to top golf clubs and later attracted celebrity investors such as actress Olive Munn and professional football player Von Miller.

The acquisition comes as no surprise, since Sonoma Brands’ founder Jon Sebastiani spoke of more beef jerky buys in an interview last month with The Press Democrat after he recently repurchased Krave, which he had sold to chocolate maker Hershey in 2015 for $232 million.

“Our goal is to reenergize the premium segment of the meat snacks category,” said Kevin Murphy, managing director of Sonoma Brands, who will be leading the combined entity as interim chief executive officer.