Excellere Partners has made an investment in Flavours, a developer and contract manufacturer of organic, natural, and healthy beverages and snack foods. Flavours plans to use the capital and resources provided by Excellere to expand production capabilities, recruit additional executive talent and invest in capabilities to enhance product innovation.
Flavours is a developer and manufacturer of organic, natural, and healthy beverages and snack foods using both proprietary aseptic technologies and flavor systems. Flavours works with its customers from initial ideas and concept development through full scale production. The company’s customers range from start-up businesses seeking to develop and launch new concepts to larger brands and private label clients. Flavours’ in-house research and development team assists customers with product development while its 56,000 square-foot manufacturing facility conducts both short-run product testing as well as extended manufacturing for more established products. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Yorba Linda, CA (www.flavoursinc.com).
“We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Excellere, and look forward to further enhancing our operations as well as the overall value that we provide our customers. The addition of more resources, including both human and financial capital, will allow Flavours to continue building upon our core competencies of product development, flavorings and aseptic co-packing services,” said Joshua Cua, chief executive officer and founder of Flavours. “With our existing capabilities in high-acid (juice-based) aseptic packaging, we are excited to soon be able to provide our customers with aseptic packaging for low-acid (milk-based) products as well.”
Flavours marks Excellere’s third investment made by its $472 million second fund and a key milestone as the firm has been focused on identifying a business engaged in the healthy beverages and flavorings segment for more than two years. “With Flavours, we have found a truly differentiated business model and a management team with extraordinary aspirations,” said Ryan Heckman, managing partner with Excellere. “Flavours’ value proposition and healthy alternative product focus is at the center of some of today’s most powerful consumer and retail trends. With this infusion of capital, together we will have the opportunity to set new standards of quality, innovation and service. Excellere is honored to partner with and support the Flavours team.”
Excellere Partners invests in middle-market companies with revenues ranging from $20 million to $150 million. Sectors of interest include healthcare; specialty foods; industrial technology and services; business services; and education and training. The firm has $737 million of capital under management and is based in Denver, CO (www.excellerepartners.com).
Concurrent with Excellere’s investment, Flavours appointed three new senior executives including a chief financial officer, director of operations and director of quality and compliance. “These new additions to the Flavours team demonstrate our intent to capitalize on the opportunities afforded our company through this new partnership with Excellere. All three individuals have significant experience in the food and beverage industry and represent our focus on utilizing the Excellere investment to provide more value to our customers,” said Mr. Cua.
PEPD 8-17-12
