B&M, the Maine-born brand known for baked beans and brown bread, has a new owner after 159 years in business. B&G Foods has sold it alongside Joan of Arc in a move aimed at reducing debt and reshaping the company’s collection of food brands.
The buyer is McCall Farms, and B&G announced the completed sale on October 13, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Two pantry brands are changing hands
B&M’s products include baked beans and brown bread, while Joan of Arc’s lineup covers kidney beans, chili beans and other canned beans.
In its sale announcement, B&G said it intends to use the proceeds to repay long-term debt. The company is selling selected brands as it works to simplify its business and put more attention on the products it considers central to its future.
For McCall Farms, the purchase adds two established names in canned foods. For B&G, it is another divestiture in a company that was once known for buying up a wide variety of familiar grocery brands, as Food Dive noted.
B&G President and CEO Robert D. Mills described the sale as part of the company’s work to improve its financial position and concentrate its portfolio. The seller did not disclose how the purchase price was divided between the brands.
B&M’s history reaches back to 1867
For New England shoppers, B&M carries a particularly long history. The business began as Burnham & Morrill in Portland, Maine, in 1867, according to the brand’s own account.
Its early years were broader than the baked beans that later became its signature. The company grew as a canning business before experimenting with brick-oven baked beans in the 1920s.
That regional identity remained central as ownership changed over the years. B&G acquired B&M from Pillsbury in March 1999, meaning the brand spent more than 27 years in B&G’s portfolio before this latest sale.
The brand’s reach eventually extended across the country. Its history notes that a San Jose, California, facility began producing B&M beans in 1962 to help meet national demand and reduce transportation costs to the West Coast.
B&G continues to narrow its portfolio
McCall Farms is already familiar with buying brands from B&G. Food Dive reported that it also acquired Le Sueur, the canned vegetable brand, from the company in 2025.
The latest deal continues B&G’s effort to sell selected businesses while retaining a broad lineup of packaged foods. Its remaining portfolio includes names such as Crisco, Cream of Wheat and Ortega.
For shoppers, the recognizable names on the cans are the connection to the story. B&M and Joan of Arc have changed owners; for B&G, the goal is to turn the sale into a smaller debt burden and a more focused business.
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