Private equity player CapVest has acquired US-based better-for-you snacks player Second Nature Brands as it seeks to establish a new platform for alternative snacking.

CapVest has bought the Michigan-based creator of premium, nutritional and better for you snacks and treats, including Kar’s Nuts, Second Nature Snacks, and Sanders Chocolates, from a private equity fund affiliated with Palladium Equity Partners.

CapVest said it plans to support the group’s growth nthrough both investment in organic growth and “transformational acquisitions”.

The deal comes less than a year after CapVest sold its Valeo Foods platform, which housed brands including Kettle, Jacobs and Rowse, to Bain Capital for an estimated €1.7bn.

CapVest also sold protein player Eight Fifty Food to Canadian giant Sofina last year for about £1.2bn, less than two years after creating the group.

Commenting on the transaction, Othmane Khelladi, partner at CapVest commented: “Second Nature Brands is a very exciting platform with ambitious plans to grow its presence in the highly attractive snacking and treats market.

“Through our ownership, we look forward to supporting Vic Mehren and his world-class team in accelerating growth through further investment in product innovation, category leadership and by scaling the existing platform through transformational acquisitions.”

With a heritage stretching back 140 years, the company is a major player in the fast-growing snacks and treats market, “focussing on the nutritional and lifestyle needs of health-conscious consumers”.

CEO Vic Mehren added: “Our partnership with Palladium has been extraordinarily successful and we thank them for their contributions to Second Nature Brands. With their support, and through the efforts of our great Second Nature Brands team members, Second Nature Brands has transformed into a leader within Snacks and Treats.

“We’re now thrilled to be partnering with CapVest for our next phase of growth. The CapVest team’s deep consumer food experience will be invaluable as we work to build on our Snacks and Treats platform organically, and inorganically with strategic acquisitions.”

CapVest has been investing in food businesses around the world for more over 20 years and has a deep understanding of the consumer food sector.

Its transformation of Valeo Foods saw the group grow from an Irish-only business with less than €200m in sales, to a leading global ambient food group with over €1.1bn in net sales operating in over 106 markets around the world.

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