SANTA MONICA, CA; MONTCLAIR, NJ — Clearlake Capital Group today announced they have signed a definitive agreement to sell Proven Brands, Inc. and KTB Foods, Inc. to The Hain Celestial Group for approximately $259 million. The sale includes the flagship ParmCrisps and Thinsters brands out of Clearlake’s Better For You Holdings food platform, which sponsors leading providers of high-quality, branded, better-for-you snacks and beverages.
Clearlake acquired the two brands in 2014 and subsequently completed the successful acquisition of Kitchen Table Bakers, the makers of ParmCrisps, in 2016. Under Clearlake’s stewardship, in partnership with founder Aldo Zuppichini, CEO Sammy Kestenbaum, and management and employees, the companies introduced a variety of new flavors and innovative products, scaled distribution and manufacturing (including opening a new company-owned facility in 2020 to optimize the company’s proprietary manufacturing process), accelerated multi-channel go-to-market capabilities, and modernized its branding with redesigned logos and packaging.
These initiatives resulted in sixfold revenue growth during Clearlake’s ownership period. Since Clearlake’s initial investment, the groups have grown their employees from less than 10 to more than 250 today, and now operate a recently opened 70,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in York, PA. ParmCrisps and Thinsters are now positioned as the No. 1 and No. 3 brands in their respective categories, with ParmCrisps positioned as the fastest growing cheese crisp brand in the US.
“We’ve been proud to partner with Aldo, Sammy and the entire team in executing on our combined vision of scaling a better-for-you snack platform to meet the demands of today’s health-conscious, informed consumers,” said José E. Feliciano and Behdad Eghbali, co-founders and managing partners of Clearlake. “We leveraged our firm’s significant experience in the consumer sector, and committed substantial operational and M&A resources to scale the companies. Given our previous experience with Hain Celestial, who acquired our former portfolio company World Gourmet / Sensible Portions in 2010, we believe ParmCrisps and Thinsters have found a perfect home.”
"We’ve been proud to partner with Aldo, Sammy and the entire team in executing on our combined vision of scaling a better-for-you snack platform to meet the demands of today's health-conscious, informed consumers," said José E. Feliciano and Behdad Eghbali, co-founders and managing partners of Clearlake.
This transaction represents the latest exit in Clearlake’s portfolio in the consumer sector. In addition to ParmCrisps and Thinsters, current and past investments in the consumer space include notable brands such as From the Ground Up, Sensible Portions, OWYN, Chef’s Cut Real Jerky, and CORE Hydration in the better-for-you food and beverage sector.
“We are excited to welcome ParmCrisps and Thinsters to the Hain family and support the brands’ next chapter of growth,” said Mark Schiller, president and CEO of Hain. “ParmCrisps and Thinsters are attractive clean-label snacks that address the needs of a growing base of health-conscious consumers.”
Clearlake’s capital backing has skyrocketed these brands’ success. But as their leadership team looks to the next chapter, founder Zuppichini says they’ve been unified on what they think “success” looks like since the beginning.
“This successful outcome would not have been possible without the value-added partnership of Clearlake, whose deep consumer and operating expertise accelerated our growth trajectory,” Zuppichini said. “Clearlake understood our goals, and under their stewardship, we were able to successfully execute our growth plan. A great product along with the right people and an intense passion has been our recipe for success.”
