VMG Partners has sold Justin’s, a maker of nut butters, nut butter snacks, and organic peanut butter cups, to Hormel Foods. VMG acquired a minority equity position in Justin’s in October 2013.
“Working with VMG was a unique partnership because they completely understood our business and provided extremely helpful guidance, financing, and resources,” said Peter Burns, President and CEO. “Importantly, they also let us operate with the autonomy needed to rapidly grow our business while maintaining our entrepreneurial culture.” Justin’s was founded by Justin Gold in a home kitchen in 2004 and is based in Boulder (www.justins.com).
“We enjoyed partnering with an iconic entrepreneur in Justin Gold, his amazing Justin’s brand, and its talented management team led by Peter Burns,” said Wayne Wu, a Managing Director at VMG.
VMG Partners targets companies that are active in the food, beverage, wellness, pet products, personal care and household products sectors. Representative past and present partner companies include babyganics®, Health Warrior, Justin’s, KIND Healthy Snacks, Natural Balance, Nature’s Bakery, Pretzel Crisps®, Perfect Bar, Quest, Spindrift, and Vega. The firm was founded in 2005 and has offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles (www.vmgpartners.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-2-16
