Food & Beverage Acquisitions in Virginia

Advent International has completed its acquisition of Sauer Brands Inc., a portfolio of condiments and seasonings brands including Duke's Mayo, Kernel Season's and Mateo's Gourmet Salsa, from Falfurrias Capital Partners. As part of the close, E. Yuri Hermida was appointed CEO and the deal positions Advent to support Sauer Brands' next phase of growth across retail and away-from-home channels.

Azalea Capital has acquired Virginia Food Group (VFG), owner of brands including Virginia Diner, Feridies, The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg, and Red Rocker Candy. Farragut Capital Partners provided senior subordinated debt and equity alongside NewSpring Capital and Salem Investment Partners to support the acquisition, with Atlantic Union Bank providing senior debt financing.

Forever Cheese has acquired substantially all assets of Virginia Packing, a Toano, Virginia-based specialty slicer and co-packer for cured meats, cheeses and other specialty foods. The deal expands Forever Cheese's value‑added service capabilities — including retail-ready slicing, packing and logistics — and keeps Virginia Packing operating out of its Toano facility.

Uncle Nearest, the Shelbyville, Tennessee–based spirits company, has acquired Square One Organic Spirits, a Charlottesville, Virginia organic vodka brand founded by Allison Evanow. Square One will maintain its farm-to-glass, USDA-organic focus with Evanow remaining in a leadership role while Uncle Nearest provides expanded sales and distribution to support a nationwide rollout and new product introductions.

Forward Consumer Partners has acquired Firehook Bakery, a fast-growing artisan baking company known for organic sourdough breads and the #1 brand of artisanal crackers in the U.S. Founder Pierre Abushacra retains a significant minority stake and Balance Point provided debt financing to support the transaction; Forward appointed Maura Mottolese as CEO to lead the next growth phase.

Healthier Choices Management Corp. (HCMC) announced the acquisition of Ellwood Thompson's, an organic and natural foods market located in Richmond, Virginia. The purchase is intended to accelerate HCMC's expansion of its grocery segment and help grow the company's retail footprint and revenues.

Symrise AG has signed a minority investment agreement with Bonumose, an early-stage food ingredient manufacturer that produces rare sugars (e.g., tagatose and allulose) using patented enzymatic technology. The strategic minority investment will accelerate Symrise's sugar-reduction initiatives by combining Symrise's flavor and taste-balancing capabilities with Bonumose's cost-efficient production of sugar alternatives, targeting applications such as beverages and ice cream.

Bain Capital has made a $250 million minority growth investment in Cuisine Solutions to support the sous-vide leader's product innovation, global expansion, and manufacturing footprint build-out. Cuisine Solutions' existing management and the Vilgrain family remain in control while the capital will be used to accelerate domestic and international growth across foodservice, retail, travel, and military channels.

HF Foods Group Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all assets of Sealand Food, Inc., a Richmond, Virginia–based frozen seafood supplier that serves Asian/Chinese restaurants across the U.S. East Coast. The acquisition expands HF Foods' distribution footprint into states where it previously had limited presence, bringing the combined network to serve roughly 15,000 restaurants and supporting HF Foods' goal of national scale and revenue growth.

Caribé Juice has acquired WTRMLN WTR, the cold-pressed watermelon juice brand founded in 2013. The acquisition brings WTRMLN WTR's mission-driven product portfolio into Caribé Juice's farm-to-bottle platform to expand capabilities, distribution and social-impact sourcing.

Bettera Brands, a portfolio company of Highlander Partners, acquired substantially all of the assets of Nutravail, a Chantilly, Virginia-based developer and manufacturer of soft chew nutraceuticals. The acquisition expands Bettera's confectionary delivery capabilities (gummies, lozenges and chewables) and is intended to accelerate cross-selling, product development and manufacturing capacity for wellness brands.

FoodChain ID, a Paine Schwartz Partners portfolio company, has acquired Diversified Laboratories, an analytical testing lab based in Chantilly, Virginia. The deal expands FoodChain ID’s contaminants testing capabilities — adding Diversified’s USDA-accredited and ISO 17025-certified pesticide, PCB, antibiotic and mycotoxin testing to its food safety, quality and sustainability platform.

Charlotte-based private equity firm Falfurrias Capital Partners signed a definitive agreement to acquire the food business of Richmond-based The C.F. Sauer Company. The sale transfers the company's branded and private-label food operations (including Duke's Mayonnaise and The Spice Hunter) to the buyer — the retained real estate portfolio remains with the shareholders — and the business will be known as Sauer Brands Inc. upon closing.