Deli Star Corp., a Fayetteville, Ill.-based producer of high-quality cooked meats, merged with King’s Food Products, a Belleville, Ill.-based producer of confectionary fudge and a co-packer of several brands of sauces, dressings and salsas, effective April 1. The merged company, with common ownership by the families of brothers Dan and Tom Siegel, will operate under the Deli Star name, while preserving the King's Food brand name for its key product line of specialty fudge.

Deli Star’s Fayetteville facility will continue producing fresh, never frozen premium meats for foodservice customers under the Deli Star Classic, Chef’s Edge, Gaucho and Simple Promise brand names. The Belleville facility will continue producing fudge, sauces and related products for its foodservice and retail customers.

Both facilities will benefit from Deli Star’s St. Louis Innovation Center (SLIC), a state-of-the-art, restaurant-style kitchen and research and development facility. Key initiatives include developing new products and processes with a focus on expanding development and production of the King’s Food line of fudge for retail and foodservice sale. 

“King’s Food and Deli Star have been part of our family’s heritage for 25 and 30 years respectively, and we are proud of the success and solid reputation both companies have earned over the years,” says Justin Siegel, president of Deli Star. “While reviewing both companies’ growth strategies and by working with our customers at our St. Louis Innovation Center, our leadership team realized the synergies and opportunities that could be created if we combined operations.”

Leadership of the newly merged Deli Star will remain the same, with Siegel serving as president, and Dan Siegel and Tom Siegel continuing to serve on the board of directors. All 90 employees will retain their jobs.

“By allowing Deli Star to serve as an innovation pipeline for development of fresh, never frozen meats, sauces and related products, while leveraging the King’s Food name to bolster the development of our premium fudge line, we will greatly enhance our ability to deliver quality, innovative, clean label products with great value to our customers,” adds Siegel.