Global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced it has agreed to sell graze, the UK’s largest healthy snack brand, to Unilever. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Carlyle acquired graze in November 2012 through Carlyle Europe Technology Partners II (CETP II). During Carlyle’s ownership, graze experienced strong growth in its delivery service, as well as expansion into retail stores in the UK and US, with products being stocked in Sainsbury’s, Boots, Costco and Target.
Founded in 2008, graze’s purpose is to put excitement into healthy snacking, providing a range of snacking nuts, seeds, trail mixes and snack bars, with no artificial ingredients. Having started with a snack box delivery service, graze is now a multichannel brand, with products available via retail stores, ecommerce and direct to consumer.
Fernando Chueca, Managing Director on the CETP advisory team said: “It has been a delight to support graze with its international expansion, and development into the largest multi-channel brand in the healthy snacking sector. We wish graze and Unilever continued success.”
Anthony Fletcher, graze CEO said: “This deal marks a transformational moment in graze’s growth journey. graze believes that learning from Unilever’s sustainable living plan will become a key driver for the business.”
“graze has an incredibly exciting future ahead as part of Unilever and we look forward to working closely with the team to keep on inventing new healthy snacks, as well as continuing to work to understand the role technology can play in improving the food industry. We thank Carlyle for all the support it has lent to graze on our journey.”
Nitin Paranjpe, President of Unilever’s Food & Refreshment business said: “graze is the number one healthy snacking brand in the UK – delivering consumers fabulously tasty snacking options, delivered in beautiful packaging. A truly multichannel brand, graze offers personalisation, convenience and great nutrition, brilliantly meeting the needs of millennial consumers.”
“Accelerating our presence in healthy foods and out of home this is an excellent strategic fit for the Unilever Food & Refreshment business, and a wonderful addition to our stable of purpose driven brands. We look forward to working with the graze team to grow the business, leveraging their tech and ecommerce expertise for our wider portfolio, and offering more consumers the opportunity to snack in a healthier way.”
About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with $212 billion of assets under management across 339 investment vehicles as of September 30, 2018. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,625 people in 31 offices across six continents.
About graze
graze, the UK’s largest healthy snacking brand, has been helping consumers reimagine how snacking can fuel their busy lives over the last ten years.
With an innovative tech-led multichannel model operating direct-to-consumers, online and via retail, the business has access to unique data enabling it to pioneer innovation, as well as maintaining relationships with its most loyal customers.
Graze is present in over 30,000 top retailers across the UK, as well as national US retailers such as Target, Walgreens and 7Eleven.
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. It has 161,000 employees and generated sales of €53.7 billion in 2017. Over half (57%) of the company’s footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes all over the world, including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Wall’s, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Lynx.
