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Parsippany-based B&G Foods Inc. has agreed to sell its shelf-stable vegetable products under the Green Giant brand to leading packaged food manufacturer Seneca Foods Corp.

In a Nov. 8 press release announcing the acquisition, the companies said B&G will maintain ownership of Green Giant’s trademarks and grant a license to Seneca to use the brand’s name. The sale also excludes Green Giant’s frozen products, its Canadian business and the Le Sueur premium canned veggies brand.

The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal.

At Seneca Foods – a Geneva, N.Y.-headquartered supplier of branded and private-label packaged fruit and vegetables – President and CEO Paul Palmby said the company is excited to bring an iconic brand into its portfolio.

“Having co-manufactured much of this product for B&G Foods for many years, we have long admired the strength of the brand in the market and look forward to its continued success,” he said.

“Our decision to sell the US shelf-stable product line of the Green Giant brand is part of our ongoing effort to divest product lines that are non-core to B&G Foods’ long-term strategy and reduce long-term debt,” B&G President and CEO Casey Keller said.

He continued, “We believe that Seneca Foods, the long-time, primary co-manufacturer for the Green Giant US shelf-stable product line, is the right owner for the US shelf-stable product line. We continue to believe in the power of the iconic Green Giant brand, and the sale will allow our Green Giant team to focus on Green Giant frozen, Green Giant Canada and the Le Sueur brand.”

After B&G reorganized itself in June 2022 into four business units – Spices & Flavor Solutions; Meals; Frozen & Vegetables; and Specialty – the company began a review of its portfolio, which includes Crisco, Cream of Wheat, Dash and Ortega, to see which brands fit the goals set for each of the new divisions.

In December 2022, B&G announced plans to sell its organic, plant-based snack brand Back to Nature to the Barilla Group, closing the deal a month later for an undisclosed sum.

Since acquiring Green Giant, B&G introduced several new products, such as riced veggies, mashed cauliflower and veggie tots, which helped turn the brand into one of the company’s most consistent moneymakers. However, it was not among the B&G brands that showed positive growth sales over the past year, which triggered discussions earlier in 2023 about selling off Green Giant.

The divestiture comes about eight years after B&G purchased Green Giant and Le Sueur from General Mills for $765 million, marking the company’s first entry into the frozen food segment.