Antelope, a new pet products platform formed in August 2021 in partnership with consumer brands entrepreneur Wendy Wen, has acquired pet treat maker Bocce’s Bakery.
Bocce’s Bakery, Antelope’s first acquisition, is an all-natural, limited-ingredient pet treats company that was founded in 2010 by sisters Andrea and Natalia Tovar and today sells more than 75 SKUs of pet treats for dogs (and soon cats).
The company’s products are sold in thousands of retail stores across the United States including independent pet stores, natural grocery chains, and national retailers such as Target, PetSmart, Petco, and Shake Shack.
“We started Bocce’s in a small oven and could not be prouder of how our customers have stood behind our mission over the past decade. In considering the next step in Bocce’s growth trajectory, we have found Alpine to be unique in their energy, enthusiasm, and care for our brand,” said Ms. Tovar. “We are confident that Alpine and Wendy will continue to build on Bocce’s strong foundation while maintaining Bocce’s quality promise and our commitment to making a positive change in the pet aisle.”
Ms. Wen, an Alpine CEO-in-residence, was previously the co-founder and chief operating officer of SENREVE, an omnichannel luxury handbag brand headquartered in San Francisco, and she will now lead Antelope as its CEO. Alpine plans to invest from $100 million to $150 million of equity capital in Antelope to fund acquisitions of omnichannel natural pet products companies.
Antelope is headquartered in San Francisco and is actively seeking new acquisitions of pet consumable brands across all verticals within the pet products sector. According to Alpine, last year the United States pet industry exceeded $100 billion in sales for the first time with consumer spending on pet food and treats increasing by 10% to $42 billion.
“We are thrilled to expand our investing opportunities to founders who are transforming the pet consumable space,” said Graham Weaver, a founding partner of Alpine. “We have known Wendy for many years. Her ambition, joyous personality, and passion for partnering with innovators perfectly position her to lead Antelope. Our team is delighted to support Wendy’s vision of creating an ecosystem of high-quality, natural products for pet lovers.”
San Francisco-based Alpine invests in control buyouts, majority recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of recurring revenue software, business services, and consumer services businesses that have enterprise values from $5 million to $400 million and EBITDA of $1 million to $40 million. Alpine is currently investing out of its $2.25 billion eighth fund.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | November 23, 2021
