Novacap Expands Contract Food Platform

Noble Foods Nutrition, a contract manufacturer of nutrition and energy bars and a portfolio company of Novacap, has acquired the co-packing activities of Betty Lou’s, an energy bar manufacturer.

Betty Lou’s, under its own brand and others, manufactures energy bars, protein shakes, crackers, and protein balls. The company was founded by Betty Lou Carrier in 1978 and operates out of a 100,000 sq. ft. facility in McMinnville, Oregon.

All co-packing activities of Betty Lou’s will continue uninterrupted at the McMinnville facility, while all of Betty Lou’s branded products will be manufactured at a new facility located in McMinnville under the continued ownership of Ms. Carrier.

“After 42 years, I have decided to sell the co-packing activities of Betty Lou’s to Noble Foods and focus our efforts on our private Betty Lou’s brand,” said Ms. Carrier. “Noble Foods has been doing co-packing bars for more than 20 years with a high level of organization, professionalism, and dedication to bar manufacturing. It gave me great comfort knowing that they have the same philosophy about customer service and quality as we do. Our Betty Lou’s employees are like family and I’m happy to know that those joining the Noble Foods team will be taken care of, as that is especially important to me.”

Noble Foods manufactures a range of nutrition and energy bars including granola bars, crisp bars, fruit bars, peanut, and mixed nut bars. The company can also coat its products with a variety of chocolates including dark, milk, sugar-free, or peanut-flavored coatings. Noble Foods was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Pointe-Claire, Québec.

“We couldn’t have found a better complement to our base of customers and our present employees,” said Lee Shulkin, the president of Noble Foods. “Merging the two companies’ business philosophies and trajectories will significantly improve both enterprises and make the whole so much greater than the sum of its parts.”

5“This acquisition marks the first transaction in our investment thesis and an excellent foothold for Noble Foods in both the US as well as the West Coast,” said Antoine Casimir, a principal at Novacap. “We firmly believe that Noble Foods will become the preferred contract manufacturer in North America, and we will continue to explore multiple acquisition and strategic opportunities to expand its current manufacturing capabilities and geographic reach.”

Novacap, with C$3.6 billion in assets under management, invests in middle-market companies within traditional industries and in companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications sector. The firm was founded in 1981 and has offices in Toronto, and near Montreal in Brossard, Quebec.