Revolution Foods Acquires Ardella’s, 50-Year-Old Family Company Behind Student-Favorite Pizzas and Burritos
The acquisition adds additional USDA-inspected, California-based production capacity ahead of the new school year and marks the latest step in Revolution Foods’ goal to build a family of trusted brands serving schools, seniors and families
COMMERCE, Calif., Aug. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Revolution Foods, California’s largest K-12 school meal provider, today announced the acquisition of Ardella’s, a family-owned food manufacturer that has spent more than 50 years crafting pizza and burrito recipes loved by generations of students. Revolution Foods will combine Ardella’s proven products and manufacturing capabilities with its own nutrition expertise, operational scale, and customer relationships. The acquisition will enable Revolution Foods to deliver more delicious and innovative menu items across the more than 35 million meals served in school cafeterias, senior nutrition programs and on retail shelves each year.
“We believe every meal is an opportunity to show kids that nutritious food can be food they love,” said George Blanco, CEO of Revolution Foods. “Bringing Ardella’s to the table enables us to offer more culturally relevant dishes that students are excited about, because healthy meals only make a difference when kids actually eat them.”
Founded in 1975 as a chain of Southern California pizzerias, Ardella’s built its reputation supplying schools with high-quality, center-of-the-plate menu items. To this day, the company still follows the recipe for its “secret pizza sauce” brought over from Italy by an original family partner. In 2005, Ardella’s opened a USDA-inspected production facility in Carson, Calif., with individually quick-frozen (IQF) capabilities. The facility now joins Revolution Foods’ California manufacturing footprint, expanding production capacity for school and senior meal programs.
“For more than 50 years, our family has been crafting foods that kids and families enjoy, without cutting corners on quality,” said Hap Frank, co-founder of Ardella’s. “Passing the baton to Revolution Foods allows our recipes, our people, everything we’ve built, to reach even more schools and communities.”
Revolution Foods plans to expand Ardella’s legacy through continued product innovation. Under the leadership of Chef Emilia Fonda, the company’s culinary team is developing recipes and menu concepts that maintain the brand’s trusted quality while introducing fresh flavors and new formats.
“Ardella’s gives us an outstanding platform for innovation,” said Fonda. “We’re starting with foods students already love, pizza and burritos, and building on them, from more protein-packed burrito options to new handheld products. We’re improving on each dish without losing the elements that make them favorites in the first place.”
The acquisition adds Ardella’s to Revolution Foods’ growing family of brands, joining Balance Foods, a healthy snack and cereal company. The deal also positions Revolution Foods to expand select Ardella’s products into its senior meal programs, building on the company’s ability to provide nutritious, affordable meals to the communities it serves.
About Revolution Foods: Revolution Foods is on a mission to nourish and strengthen communities, combining exceptional nutrition with meaningful social impact since 2006. Serving over 35 million meals annually, Revolution Foods believes everyone deserves access to affordable, trustworthy options in school cafeterias, senior centers, and on retail shelves. As a pioneering B Corporation, we craft food with purpose, one meal at a time. For more information, visit revolutionfoods.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
About Ardella’s: Founded in 1975, Ardella’s is a family-owned Southern California food company known for its pizzas, burritos, and other center-of-the-plate favorites served in schools across the region. From its USDA-inspected facility in Carson, Calif., Ardella’s has supplied high-quality, individually quick-frozen menu items to school nutrition programs for decades.
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