What started off as a business plan pitched to Rick Bayless by a fan and MBA student has just been sold to one of the largest food manufacturers in the world.

Frontera Foods, the Chicago-bred and -based packaged-foods company founded in 1996 by Bayless and the brand's CEO, Manny Valdes, was acquired today by Chicago-based ConAgra, the maker of processed foods such as Slim Jim, Reddi-Wip and Hunt's. Terms were not disclosed.

What does the deal mean for a chef who built an empire based on authenticity, sustainability and natural foods? Read our analysis here.

The sale, which also includes lesser-known brands Red Fork and Salpica, does not include Bayless' various restaurant holdings, such as his Chicago staples Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Lena Brava and Xoco.

It's the first acquisition for ConAgra since it moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago from Omaha, Neb., in June.

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Taking on Frontera, a premium brand that uses all-natural ingredients and is associated with a celebrity chef, appears a natural fit for the packaged-foods giant, which has pegged its future on growing its lines of premium, gourmet, organic and natural foods under CEO Sean Connolly, who took the helm in April 2015.

"We are excited to add the Frontera, Red Fork and Salpica brands to our portfolio," Connolly said in a statement. "In particular, the Frontera brand is a pre-eminent gourmet Mexican food brand in North America. We believe it provides a tremendous platform off which we can build."

Frontera's line of gourmet Mexican foods, including chips, salsas, sauces and meals, was sold in more than 65 percent of U.S. grocers as of last summer, Valdes told Crain's previously. The company did not disclose revenue, but Valdes said it had been growing at about 20 percent a year.

DISTRIBUTION, MANUFACTURING BOOST

The brand's acquisition by ConAgra almost certainly will boost distribution of the brand, as well as manufacturing capability. It was not immediately clear whether ConAgra will take over production of the companies' sauces and salsas, which have long been manufactured and packed in Houston, or its chips, which are made by El Milagro in Chicago.

The sale also will allow Bayless and Valdes to focus on their growing restaurant empire, Frontera Hospitality Group. The duo, who are equal partners in Bayless' restaurants—excluding his three on Clark Street in River North—earlier this year opened a West Loop brewpub/taqueria and a fine-dining seafood restaurant. They're also partners in Frontera concepts in airports, universities and retail venues such as Macy's.

Valdes had the idea for Frontera Foods as a graduate student at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He and his wife lived within a few blocks of Frontera Grill in River North and became fans. During his coursework, he wrote a business plan to "take what Rick was doing in the restaurant world and take it into grocery stores."

After spending five years post graduate school working for Kraft Foods, Valdes went back to Bayless and persuaded him to launch the brand. They started with five salsas and have since expanded to carry more than 50 gourmet Mexican food products.