BERKELEY, Calif. and BELLVUE, Colo. — Sovos Brands ("Sovos") today announced that it has completed its previously announced transaction to merge noosa yoghurt, LLC, a fast-growing premium yoghurt manufacturer, into the Sovos portfolio of brands.
"The addition of noosa allows Sovos to play in three large, on-trend food categories – frozen, sauces and now yoghurt," said Todd Lachman, President and CEO of Sovos Brands. "Over the past four years, noosa has more than tripled its sales, market share and local production capacity in Colorado. We plan to build on this success and expand noosa into new markets and geographies and extend it into new categories outside of spoonable yoghurt."
By joining the Sovos portfolio, noosa will diversify Sovos into a third temperature state, refrigerated, providing capabilities that can be leveraged across Sovos. It will nearly double Sovos' sales, diversify the company's customer base and create a larger infrastructure.
Sovos is a Berkeley, California-based food and beverage company led by experienced consumer packaged goods executives and backed by Advent International. noosa is the third addition to the Sovos portfolio in less than two years. Sovos' mission is to acquire premium, on-trend brands with high-quality products that have significant growth opportunities, combining industry expertise with fresh thinking to bring authentic, delicious food into more homes. The company acquired Michael Angelo'sGourmet Foods, a leading producer of premium, authentic frozen Italian entrees, and Rao's Specialty Foods, which produces the leading super premium pasta sauce and other Italian specialty foods, in 2017.
noosa was co-founded in 2009 by Koel Thomae, an Australian expat, and Rob Graves, a Colorado dairy farmer, who set out to bring the Aussie-style yoghurt with a creamy texture and sweet-tart flavor profile to the U.S. market. noosa boasts impressive consumer loyalty with premium positioning, and is made with whole milk, a touch of wildflower North American honey and real fruit purées on a family farm in Bellvue, Colorado. Sovos values noosa's commitment to Colorado and plans to continue to manufacture products at the Bellvue facility.
Deutsche Bank served as financial advisor to noosa, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP acted as noosa's legal counsel. McDermott Will and Emery acted as Sovos' legal counsel.
ABOUT SOVOS BRANDS
Sovos Brands is a new kind of food and beverage company with a mission to acquire and build one-of-a-kind brands. The brands in its portfolio include Michael Angelo's, a leading producer of premium, authentic frozen Italian entrées; noosa yoghurt, a producer of premium yoghurt made with whole milk and wildflower North American honey; and Rao's Homemade, a producer of super premium pasta sauces and other Italian specialty foods. Sovos has the soul of a startup, the experience of an industry leader and the financial backing of Advent International, one of the world's largest private equity firms. The company has a one-of-a-kind approach to brands, business and people—in fact, the only thing that's old school about the business is the name, inspired by the old Latin term sovos, which means unique or one of a kind. This one-of-a-kind vision leads the company's focus on people and brands, working to ensure that both can really thrive. Find out more about Sovos at www.sovosbrands.com, Michael Angelo's at www.michaelangelos.com, noosa at www.noosayoghurt.com, and Rao's Homemade at www.raos.com.
ABOUT ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 340 private equity transactions in 41 countries and as of June 30, 2018, had $41 billion in assets under management. With offices on four continents, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 190 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology, media and telecom. After more than 30 years dedicated to international investing, Advent remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies. For more information, visit: www.adventinternational.com.
Source: Sovos Brands
