Private equity firm LCatterton has sold its remaining stake in Nature’s Variety to Agrolimen, joint venture partner for the investment. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
LCatterton invested in Nature’s Variety in 2008; and Agrolimen became a JV partner in 2014. Working together alongside Nature’s Variety Chief Executive Officer Reed Howlett, L Catterton and Agrolimen have developed a comprehensive brand positioning and go-to-market strategy for the brand.
Since LCatterton’s investment, Nature’s Variety has implemented a number of initiatives that have driven the business to quadruple in size and transformed Nature’s Variety into the leading raw and raw-inspired pet food brand in North America. Over this period, Nature’s Variety sharpened its brand identity and enhanced its packaging to highlight key brand elements such as pure, natural nutrition, and quality ingredients. The Company also introduced industry-leading products and innovations including Instinct® Raw Boost Kibble, Instinct Raw Frozen Bites, and Ultimate Protein®, the first kibble made entirely with fresh meat and no meal. In addition, the Company has pioneered new food safety techniques in its frozen and freeze-dried raw product lines. Nature’s Variety has also dramatically increased its distribution footprint since 2008, launching at leading pet specialty chains Petco and PetSmart, more than doubling independent store penetration, and driving rapid sales growth online.
“Our partnership with the team at LCatterton has been instrumental in positioning Nature’s Variety as the leading provider of raw and raw-inspired pet food,” says Reed Howlett, Chief Executive Officer of Nature’s Variety. “With the expertise LCatterton brings specifically to the pet category, and more broadly to operations and supply chain, we have dramatically transformed our brand, overhauled our distribution and marketing strategies, and launched game-changing innovations that have enabled us to spread our message of the pure, real nutrition of raw pet food to a wider audience. We look forward to continuing our momentum with Agrolimen, which has been a strong partner for us since their investment in 2014. We are confident that with Agrolimen, we will continue our exciting growth trajectory and success for years to come.”
“We are proud of the dramatic growth that Nature’s Variety has achieved since we first made our investment in 2008,” says Scott Dahnke, Global Co-Chief Executive Officer of LCatterton. “Nature’s Variety is recognised as a leading innovator in raw pet nutrition, enabling the Company to become the category leader it is today. We are pleased to have worked with Reed Howlett and his outstanding team and to have participated in the Company’s success – and we are confident that Nature’s Variety will continue to thrive under Agrolimen’s ownership.”
Joan Cornudella, Chief Executive Officer of Agrolimen, says: “We have been privileged to work with a company so wholeheartedly devoted to its mission of empowering people to transform the lives of pets through the highest quality natural ingredients. Since our investment in 2014, Nature’s Variety has continued to experience impressive growth and to strengthen its brand and business model. We look forward to a bright future as the Company progresses to this next exciting stage.
