Bakery

Chicago Baker Changes Ownership

Marcus Lemonis LLC acquires Little Miss Muffin, a commercial baker and co-packer.

Marcus Lemonis, star of CNBC's “The Profit and Chairman” and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises, said Marcus Lemonis LLC acquired Little Miss Muffin, a commercial baker and co-packer, headquartered in Chicago.

Little Miss Muffin produces muffins, cupcakes, pastries, pies and a variety of gluten-free desserts. It distributes to coffee retailers, airlines, club stores, grocers, schools, food service distributors, department stores, independent, catalog and specialty retailers. Both established and start-up food service management companies utilize Little Miss Muffin for their co-packing and supplier needs as well as to outsource production.

"We look forward to becoming part of the Little Miss Muffin community and are excited to rename the business to Little Miss Baker, broadening our portfolio of baked goods and co-packing products and services," says Marcus Lemonis. "As a co-packer, our goal is to be a valuable resource for retail and food service customers and consumers nationwide."

Through CNBC's "The Profit," a reality show where Lemonis turns around troubled companies, he has become an investor in several treats companies, including Key Lime Pie Co., Mr. Green Tea Ice Cream and Sweet Pete's Candy. Lemonis also made recent news announcing he would partner with Wicked Good Cupcakes out of Boston and financially aid Crumbs Bake Shop in New York that filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Siblings Kenny and Staci Munic started Little Miss Muffin in the basement of their father's Steakhouse restaurant in Chicago in 1993. In conjunction with the acquisition, Lemonis says Kenny Munic will remain as president.

"We've had tremendous growth over the past 21 years, and I attribute that to our product quality and consistency focusing on hand-crafted and hand-finished goods," says Munic. "This partnership gives us the talent and resources to take the company's development to the next level. We will now be better equipped to give our customers a faster turn-around and assist with additional elements such as regulation, marketing, package design and sales to ultimately bring product to market more quickly."

Marcus Lemonis is an entrepreneur, investor, television personality, and chairman and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises. Camping World is the nation's largest RV and outdoor retailer, and Good Sam is the world's largest RV owner's organization. Through Camping World and Good Sam, he leads nearly 6,000 employees in over 100 U.S. cities. Lemonis was named RV Business Magazine's "Newsmaker of the Year" in 2007, landed on Crain's Chicago Business "40 under 40" list in 2005, and was named Ernst and Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2008.

Marcus Lemonis Enterprises’ portfolio includes Amazing Grapes, Key West Key Lime Pie Co., Little Miss Baker, Betty Lou's, Matt's Cookies, Wicked Good Cupcakes, Mr. Green Tea, Pie King, ProFit Protein Bites, RawONE, Sweet Pete's and Rose's Café & Bakery.