Noosa co-founder and executive vice president of sales Koel Thomae © Cliff Grassmick, Boulder Daily Camera
Larimer County, Colorado-based Noosa Finest Yoghurt has been acquired by Boston-based Advent International.
Noosa annouced the move five years after launching its first lines of extra-creamy Australian-style yogurt, and while in the midst of a $5m plant expansion to add processing and packaging capacity. It will continue to operate from its headquarters and production plant at Morning Fresh Dairy Farm in Bellvue.
The company has grown from making yogurt in 5-gallon batches and packing it by hand to $75 million in sales this year and distribution in 5,000 stores nationwide. It employs 91 workers.
Noosa will maintain its current local management, while Advent International will place a pair of high-profile food industry executives on the company’s board of directors – former Heinz CEO Bill Johnson and former Nestlé USA CEO Brad Alford.
“We’re excited about having experienced guys like that on our board,” said Wade Groetsch, president and CEO of Noosa. “We did a lot of due diligence to ensure that the (investor) we brought on board would be a good fit. They’ll enhance what we’ve got, not try to change what we’re doing.”
Advent International has $34bn in assets under management. Its portfolio includes Lululemon Athletica, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Simmons Bedding Company, Party City, Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits, Five Below and Charlotte Russe.
Terms of the Noosa acquisition were not disclosed. An undisclosed minority stake in Noosa termed as ‘significant’ will be retained by three of its current owners, including Groetsch, Morning Fresh Dairy Farm owner Rob Graves, and Koel Thomae, co-founder and executive vice president of sales at Noosa.
“Making our yogurt is a true labour of love that our team has put their heart and soul into since our founding,” Thomae said.
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