Food & Beverage Acquisitions in Utah

The Riverside Company has made a growth investment in Western Botanicals, a Spanish Fork, Utah-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) of vitamins, minerals and supplements. Riverside will partner with management — which retains a meaningful ownership stake — to support organic growth, expand product and format capabilities, and pursue an M&A strategy to broaden Western Botanicals' capabilities.

EagleTree Capital has made a strategic growth investment in NuTrail, a nut-based, low-sugar granola brand. As part of the investment, Sheila Stanziale was named CEO and will partner with co-founders Ilya and Roni Avshalumov to accelerate the company's growth; terms were not disclosed. EagleTree will support NuTrail's next phase of scaling and distribution expansion.

Winder Farms, Utah’s 145-year-old dairy and food brand headquartered in Salt Lake City, has been reacquired by a group of investors led by James Winder, returning the company to Winder family ownership after roughly two decades. Under the new family-led ownership, Winder Farms plans to expand its digital presence, strengthen distribution and retail partnerships, and relaunch or introduce new dairy and other food products.

Woodland Gourmet, a Graham Partners portfolio company, has acquired Sevillo Fine Foods, a Salt Lake City-based maker of chef-inspired ready-to-eat frozen ingredients. Barings led incremental financing to support the add-on acquisition, which expands Woodland's product portfolio and value‑add capabilities across foodservice, retail, and industrial channels.

Grain Craft has closed an acquisition partnership to acquire Utah-based Central Milling, including three flour mills in Logan, Richmond and Collinston, Utah, the Central Milling corporate office and associated trademarks. Central Milling — a longtime organic and artisan flour miller employing over 90 people — will continue to operate under its existing leadership while Grain Craft provides resources to expand reach and capabilities. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Rubicon Bakers has acquired Lucky Spoon Bakery, a Salt Lake City-based maker of gluten-free sweet baked goods, to expand into the gluten-free category. The deal adds Lucky Spoon's cakes, cookies, cupcakes and brownies — sold in grocery stores nationwide — to Rubicon's portfolio and brings Lucky Spoon founder Pam Schulte into Rubicon's leadership team.

Advantage Capital provided a $1.75 million growth capital investment in Utah-based Farmstead Manufacturing to fund a land purchase and expand a commercial bakery from 1,000 to 5,000 square feet. The financing will support increased production capacity and distribution via wholesale, e-commerce, and catering, and the expansion is expected to create 25–30 new jobs in Leeds, Utah.

Pearl Street Equity LLC, a New York-based single-family office, has acquired Famous Brands Franchising (the parent company of Mrs. Fields and TCBY). The Salt Lake City–headquartered franchising business operates more than 350 franchised locations worldwide and will pursue expanded franchisee support and global growth under new ownership.

Cal-Maine Foods, the largest U.S. producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all commercial shell-egg production and processing assets of Fassio Egg Farms, including facilities in Erda, Utah with capacity of ~1.2 million laying hens. The asset purchase expands Cal‑Maine’s cage‑free production capacity and market presence in Utah and the western United States; the deal is expected to close in the coming weeks subject to customary conditions.

Heartwood Partners has acquired Somafina, a nutraceutical manufacturer and brand builder, to support the company's growth and platform expansion. The investment will fund capacity and capability expansions — including R&D, automation and gummy manufacturing — and enable Somafina to pursue add-on acquisitions and broader customer support.

KPM Analytics, a Union Park Capital portfolio company, has acquired Smart Vision Works, a specialist developer of AI-powered computer vision systems for the food and agriculture industries. The deal is an add-on to KPM’s vision inspection portfolio intended to expand its AI/edge vision capabilities for sorting and foreign material detection across food production end markets.

An affiliate of Ya YA Foods Corporation, a portfolio company of Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (e2p), closed the acquisition of certain U.S. manufacturing assets from subsidiaries of Oatly Group AB, including most manufacturing equipment at Oatly’s Ogden, Utah facility. Ya YA Foods will also complete construction of Oatly’s Fort Worth, Texas facility and enter a long-term manufacturing contract to produce Oatly products in Ogden and Fort Worth, expanding Ya YA Foods’ U.S. footprint and establishing a strategic manufacturing partnership with Oatly.

Mars, Incorporated has signed an agreement to acquire Trü Frü, a better-for-you whole-fruit snacking brand, from its founders and management team. Trü Frü, headquartered in West Valley City, Utah with approximately 50 employees, will operate as a separate business within Mars to preserve its brand and will be led by current CEO Brian Neville; the transaction is expected to close in Q1 2023.

SilverBox Engaged Merger Corp I (sponsored by SilverBox Capital and Engaged Capital) closed its business combination with Authentic Brands LLC, the parent of Black Rifle Coffee Company, creating the public company BRC Inc. The transaction provides approximately $150 million of cash proceeds to support Black Rifle Coffee's omnichannel growth strategy and nationwide retail expansion; BRC Inc. began trading on the NYSE under the ticker "BRCC."

Goode Partners LLC, a New York–based private equity firm, has acquired ReadyWise, a Salt Lake City–headquartered maker of freeze-dried and dehydrated emergency and outdoor meal kits. The existing ReadyWise management team will remain led by CEO Morten Steen-Jørgensen as the company pursues accelerated growth across preparedness, outdoor recreation, and everyday meals and snacks.

United States Beverage (USB) has formed a joint venture to acquire Uinta Brewing, Utah’s largest independent craft brewer, while retaining Uinta’s leadership, operations and staff. The deal is intended to expand USB’s craft beverage portfolio and create distribution and operational synergies for Uinta’s national growth.

MidOcean Partners, a New York-based middle-market private equity firm, has acquired Casper's Ice Cream, a leading US manufacturer and supplier of branded and co-packed frozen novelty products (including FatBoy, Jolly Llama and ChurnBaby). Casper's, headquartered in Cache Valley, Utah and family-owned for more than 95 years, will pursue accelerated organic growth and strategic M&A under MidOcean's ownership; financial terms were not disclosed.

Pittsburgh-based private equity firm 3 Rivers Capital has acquired a majority stake in Salt Lake City–headquartered Blue Chip Group, parent of the Augason Farms emergency preparedness food brand. The investment is intended to provide capital and operational support to expand Blue Chip's dry food and beverage contract manufacturing capacity and scale Augason Farms' retail and e-commerce distribution.

Tilia Holdings, a Chicago-based private investment firm focused on the food supply chain, announced a growth investment in Stone Ground Bakery and that Stone Ground will merge with Wheat Montana, a Tilia portfolio bakery. Stone Ground will continue to operate under its existing brand with co-owners Tammy Hines and Derrick Schmerse remaining in place, and the combined businesses will leverage Wheat Montana's distribution network to expand Stone Ground's reach across the Western United States.

INW | Innovations in Nutrition + Wellness, backed by Cornell Capital, has acquired Capstone Nutrition from Brightstar Capital Partners. The deal adds Capstone’s large Ogden, Utah manufacturing capabilities to INW’s platform to increase scale, diversify product forms and accelerate growth across vitamins, supplements, personal care and pet care markets.

L Catterton, the global consumer-focused private equity firm, has acquired Kodiak Cakes, a Park City, Utah–based better-for-you food brand known for whole-grain pancake/waffle mixes, frozen breakfast products, oatmeal and snacks. Existing shareholders — including Sunrise Strategic Partners, Trilantic North America, and the company's founders and management — retain a meaningful minority stake; terms were not disclosed.

C.J. Foods, a portfolio company of J.H. Whitney Capital Partners, has acquired American Nutrition, combining two leading super-premium pet food manufacturers to create the largest independent producer of super-premium pet food in the U.S., producing over one billion pounds annually. The deal expands C.J. Foods' product portfolio and national distribution footprint across dry, canned and baked treats while preserving senior leadership roles on the combined board.

Montage Partners, a private equity firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has acquired Moab Brewery, the city of Moab’s only microbrewery and distillery founded in 1996. The founders, including John Borkoski and Dave Sabey, sold the business with The Forbes M+A Group advising on the transaction; Montage plans to continue growing the brand and operations.

Daniele International, a portfolio company of Chicago-based private equity firm Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (e2p), has completed a merger with Salt Lake City-based Creminelli Fine Meats. Financial terms were not disclosed; the deal expands Daniele's premium charcuterie and snack portfolio while keeping Creminelli's CEO Chris Bowler in place to continue growth and channel expansion.

Southeastern Mills, Inc., a fourth-generation family-owned food ingredients company based in Rome, Georgia, has acquired JMH Premium, a Salt Lake City-based developer and manufacturer of flavor bases, gravies, marinades, dressings and other food ingredients. The acquisition expands Southeastern Mills' B2B food ingredients capabilities and adds custom flavor development and manufacturing capacity to its business-to-business foods segment.

Brightstar Capital Partners completed the acquisition of Capstone Nutrition, a developer and manufacturer of vitamins, minerals and dietary supplement products. The transaction was completed in partnership with members of Capstone’s senior management and is intended to accelerate growth into new markets and products while enhancing the company's R&D and manufacturing capabilities.