October 12, 2018
Glanbia acquires SlimFast for $350 million
On Oct. 11, 2018, food and consumer-focused private equity firm Kainos Capital announced it would sell its portfolio company SlimFast and sister company HNS to California-based Glanbia plc for $350 million. Kainos acquired SlimFast from Unilever in 2014. Based in Palm Beach Florida, SlimFast manufactures nutritional products that include clinically proven weight management and health and wellness products. Glanbia is one of the world’s largest nutritional product manufacturers.
Andrew Rosen, Managing Partner of Kainos, said, “Our acquisition of SlimFast came with no employees or systems. Behind the leadership of CEO Chris Tisi, who we partnered with when we invested in his company HNS in 2014, we quickly built a 60-plus person team in the US and the UK. This team, combined with our own internal resources, did a great job revitalizing what was an orphan brand within a large multinational company. SlimFast is positioned to continue its great success as a part of Glanbia.”
Chris Tisi, CEO of SlimFast, said, “It was very important for us to work with our retail partners to reclaim the SlimFast heritage, which is providing effective solutions for real people who desire to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle. By partnering with Kainos, my team and I had the resources and support to dramatically increase our consumer base and offer a variety of innovative, great-tasting and effective products, including high-protein SlimFast Advanced, SlimFast Advanced Energy with caffeine, and our most recent Keto product offering.”
Commenting on the transaction, Siobhán Talbot, Group Managing Director of Glanbia said, “SlimFast is an established and enduring brand and, along with nutritional supplements brands “Healthy Delights” and “Nu-Therapy”, complements our existing portfolio targeting lifestyle consumers. It plays to global consumer trends focused on convenient formats and snacking. The transaction is in line with our strategic ambition to extend the reach of our Glanbia Performance Nutrition portfolio to related consumer needs.”