Quaker Oats To Buy Seattle's Nile Spice

Nadim Spahi has gone from filling spice bottles in a spare bedroom to seeing his company, Nile Spice Foods, purchased by Quaker Oats.

Chicago-based Quaker says it will purchase the Seattle manufacturer of spice blends and meals-in-a-cup for an undisclosed amount.

Quaker is buying the company because it is "an excellent strategic fit" with Quarker's other healthy, grain-based products and health-conscious beverages, said Philip Marineau, Quaker's president and chief operating officer.

Spahi was not available for comment.

Spahi started the business in 1984, after earning a degree in food science from the University of Washington and working at several jobs. Initially, Spahi, who grew up in Egypt, approached health-food stores with a table spice blend of ground sesame seeds, cumin and coriander that his family enjoyed at home.

In 1986, the business moved out of his home and added the first meal-in-a-cup dishes, which eventually accounted for 95 percent of the company's sales.

The company's timing was right. Consumers were becoming health conscious, ethnic foods were growing in popularity and convenience was becoming critical. By the end of his first year, Spahi had sold $60,000 worth of his spices.

Today, Nile Spice's line consists of 25 varieties of soups and meals featuring pasta, rice, couscous and beans, which it sells nationally in supermarkets and health-food stores. Sales are approximately $29 million.

Nile Spice headquarters are in Seattle and its production plant, in Fife. The company employs 127.