Campbell Soup Co. has agreed to buy Ferndale-based Garden Fresh Gourmet for $231 million, acquiring the No. 1 refrigerated salsa brand, according to a statement on Tuesday. Garden Fresh also makes hummus and tortilla chips.

In a statement on the company's Facebook page this morning, Garden Fresh founder and CEO Jack Aronson said he chose Campbell because "they share our commitment to crafting authentic, great-tasting products using high-quality ingredients. By tapping into each other’s strengths, we will be able to bring more of your favorite Garden Fresh Gourmet products to more locations, nationwide."

Garden Fresh Gourmet is based in 20,000 square feet in Ferndale at 1220 E. 9 Mile Road. Its parent company is Great Fresh Food, based in Clinton Township.

Garden Fresh posted $100 million in net sales last year, according to Campbell.

Garden Fresh Vice Chairman Dave Zilko said that terms of the deal were agreed to in January and that he worked all weekend on it before signing the final paperwork at about 5:45 a.m. today.

The company’s line of stuffed burgers, Jack’s Special Grilled, is not included in the deal, Zilko said, adding that it was never part of the discussions with Campbell. Zilko said Garden Fresh will become part of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Wm. Boathouse Farms Inc., Campbell Soup’s fresh food line that it purchased in 2012. “I walked into their offices and thought it would be a five-minute meet-and-greet and I fell in love with this guy, (Bolthouse Farms President) Jeff Dunn,” Zilko said. “I never met anyone who felt the way we do about fresh, all-natural food.” Zilko said he had been approached by others in the past about selling Garden Fresh but always told them the company wasn’t for sale. Yet it was a look at market conditions that made Zilko think a sale was appropriate. “When I assess the market, I think market forces are starting to work against us. Some of the biggest food companies in the world bought some of our competitors. I think we need the resources that a Fortune 500 company like Campbell can bring to the table. They operate as much as a family company as you’re ever going to find in a Fortune 500 enterprise.” With the deal, Garden Fresh’s food incubator with Eastern Market Corp., Startup Engine Entrepreneur Depot in Ferndale, will be converted into a research and development kitchen and will be moved to another location in Ferndale, Zilko said. Aronson and his wife, Annette, have been looking for space to move SEED, Zilko said. The deal also will benefit the company’s more than 450 employees locally because they are expected to be retained and receive better benefit packages. “The benefit package is more generous, so it’s kind of a de factor raise,” Zilko said. He said he hopes that news of the sale quickly evaporates from the minds of consumers and vendors. “My goal is that six months from now, our customers and retail accounts, if they hadn’t read about this in the newspapers, they never knew it happened. I want to provide the same level of products and service.” Including the acquisition, Campbell's total fresh business now will generate more than $1 billion a year. The division also includes Bolthouse Farms carrots and refrigerated soups.

"We will continue to be the brand that you fell in love with — our dedication to quality, innovation and our core values will remain the same," Aronson said in the statement. "It is in our DNA. And, you can rest assured we will continue to bring you the same flavorful recipes you've come to expect."

Campbell is the latest packaged-food company to use acquisitions to add more up-to-date products and reinvigorate sales. Hormel Foods Corp., the producer of Spam, announced plans last month to buy natural-sausage maker Applegate Farms LLC for about $775 million. General Mills Inc. agreed to buy Annie’s Inc. last year for about $820 million, helping the Cheerios maker expand into organic snacks and pastas.

“Garden Fresh Gourmet will allow the Campbell Fresh division to expand in the deli section of the grocery store perimeter,” Jeff Dunn, who runs Campbell's fresh division, said in the statement. “It is a logical extension of our fresh food and beverage platform that resonates with today’s consumers.”

So-called packaged fresh foods, which includes refrigerated salsa, is a $19 billion-plus market that grew 4.9 percent in the past year, the company said. Campbell’s top line could use the boost. Its total revenue is projected to drop 2 percent this fiscal year as fewer Americans frequent the soup aisle.

Bloomberg News contributed to this report.