Birds Eye Foods Inc., among the nation's leaders in manufacturing and marketing frozen vegetables and a major processor of other food products, announced that it has acquired California & Washington Company (C&W), a San Francisco-based marketer of frozen vegetables and fruits. This transaction expands Birds Eye Foods presence in the Western United States. Birds Eye Foods will continue to market the company's products under the C&W brand.

"C&W is a name long associated with premium products," says Dennis M. Mullen, Birds Eye Foods chairman, president and chief executive officer, "and consumers can be assured that we will continue to maintain that commitment to quality, under the same C&W brand that they know and trust." Mullen continues, "Additionally, we will continue to introduce value-added products and innovative meal solutions, utilizing the expertise and capabilities of Birds Eye Foods, to meet the growing demands of consumers for convenient and healthy food products."

Under the guidance of Robert W. Maier, C&W's president, chairman and chief executive officer since 1991, C&W is now the premier frozen vegetable retail brand with number-one market share positions in California, the Pacific Northwest and Arizona, says the company. C&W is by far the fastest-growing frozen vegetable brand in the Western United States. C&W offers over 60 products covering a wide variety of frozen vegetables.

"Both Birds Eye Foods and C&W have the reputation for only the finest-quality premium products," comments Maier. "This commitment to quality and excellence guarantees consumer satisfaction in the wide variety of choices they have to meet their needs."

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.