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The Oregon plant-based food pioneer Turtle Island Foods, better known by its Tofurky brand, has been sold to a Japanese company.
The buyer is Torfurky’s longtime tofu supplier, Morinaga Nutritional Foods. Morinaga’s parent company is Morinaga Milk Industry Co., a food conglomerate based in Tokyo.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved thus far as an independent and family-operated company,” said Tofurky chief executive Jaime Athos, “but as we enter our next stage of growth, Morinaga will provide the platform needed to help us expand more aggressively in the U.S. and beyond.”
A spokesperson for Morinaga’s U.S. unit said the purchase price exceeded $50 million. Tofurky will become a wholly owned subsidiary.
Tofurky said it will continue to manufacture at its factory in Hood River. The deal also includes a sibling brand, Moocho, that makes dairy-free cheese.
Morinaga has its U.S. headquarters in California and manufactures Mori-Nu brand tofu in Tualatin.
Seth Tibbott founded the tempeh-focused Turtle Island Soy Dairy in Forest Grove in 1980. The operation landed in Hood River in 1991, where he developed Tofurky as a vegan and vegetarian-friendly Thanksgiving main course. The brand grew to include deli slices, sausages and other meat replacement products. The company introduced its Moocho line in 2019.
A regulatory disclosure from Morinaga Milk Industry indicates the Oregon company had $42.4 million in sales in its last fiscal year but recorded $4.1 million in operating losses. The sale was finalized Friday.
-- Elliot Njus, enjus@oregonian.com
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