- The combination of TruFood and Bar Bakers
will create a market leader in nutrition snacks
- Manna Tree to invest alongside Mubadala
Capital
TruFood Manufacturing, a leading U.S. contract manufacturer
specializing in better-for-you nutrition bars, chocolate and baked
granola, today announced the successful completion of its
combination with Bar Bakers, LLC (“Bar Bakers”), a prominent player
in nutritional snacks manufacturing. The union of these two leading
companies is expected to create a scaled industry player with a
significant footprint across product categories and geographies.
Although the financial specifics remain private, investment firm
Manna Tree has joined Mubadala Capital in supporting this
venture.
TruFood’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Buick, will oversee
the combined company. Harold Rothman, Founder and CEO of Bar
Bakers, will join the new company’s Board of Directors, while Gary
Jacobs, President of Bar Bakers, will become its Chief Operating
Officer.
Commenting on the transaction, Buick said: “The coming together
of TruFood and Bar Bakers marks a significant milestone as it
strengthens our position in the nutritional snacks market. As a
result, we have expanded our capabilities and portfolio of products
and strategically extended our manufacturing footprint to the west
coast. The combined company’s expertise and resources will enable
us to better serve our customers and to accelerate our growth
opportunities. I am thrilled to welcome Bar Bakers to our family.
Their track record of customer partnership and operational
excellence align perfectly with our values and vision.”
Since its inception in 2013, Bar Bakers has been an integral
west coast manufacturer for major nutritional snack brands,
offering cutting-edge production capabilities. Their market leading
technologies in cold form, baked bars, and cookie and wafer
manufacturing complements TruFood’s existing strengths, which is
expected to cultivate deeper relationships with customers and speed
up innovation. Bar Bakers, which is headquartered in Los Alamitos,
California, has more than 1,000 employees across four manufacturing
sites and two warehouses in California. The integration process
will be conducted with careful consideration to ensure a smooth
transition for employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
“Together with Mubadala Capital, Manna Tree and TruFood, Bar
Bakers will have greater resources and new capabilities to support
the continued growth of our valued customers,” added Rothman. “On
behalf of everyone at Bar Bakers, we look forward to coming
together with the TruFood team and are confident that, together,
the combined company will be best positioned to address the
evolving needs of our customers and drive continued success for
them, for our employees, partners and all our stakeholders. I look
forward to supporting the company and advising the management team
from my board position.”
Adnan Azam, Executive Director at Mubadala Capital, added: "We
see significant value in bringing together TruFood and Bar Bakers
to create a single company that has the capabilities and expertise
to lead this industry in the years ahead. This transaction
reinforces our strong commitment to TruFood and Bar Bakers’ growth
strategy as we add network capacity, broaden our production
capacity, and expand our position in high growth categories. We are
excited to welcome the Bar Bakers team and employees to the
Mubadala Capital family as we continue to build a market leader in
nutrition snacks."
Steve Young, Managing Partner at Manna Tree, added: "The
better-for-you bar market is large and growing and TruFood and Bar
Bakers’ innovative product portfolio and unwavering commitment to
nutrition and quality make them the leader in manufacturing for the
bar category’s largest health-forward brands. As consumer
preferences continue evolving towards healthier, more protein rich
options, we believe the combination of TruFood and Bar Bakers is
exceptionally well-positioned to capitalize on these favorable
market trends."
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP acted as legal advisors
to Mubadala Capital. Winston & Strawn LLP acted as legal
advisors and Houlihan Lokey as financial advisors to Bar
Bakers.
About TruFood Manufacturing
TruFood Manufacturing is a leading contract manufacturer of
branded and private-label nutrition bars, protein bars, chocolate
moulded products, and baked goods. These products are sold at club,
grocery, drug, and convenience stores worldwide. TruFood has a
large presence on the East Coast with over 400,000 sq. ft. of
state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and continues to grow
through its strong reputation for manufacturing high quality snack
products for its marquee customer base.
About Bar Bakers
Bar Bakers is a leading contract manufacturer of branded
nutrition and protein bars, baked bars and cookies and wafer bars.
These products are primarily sold throughout the US and Canada at
club, grocery, drug, and convenience stores. Bar Bakers has more
than 1,000 employees across four manufacturing sites and two
warehouses in California and is headquartered in Los Alamitos, CA.
and continues to grow through its strong reputation for
manufacturing high quality snack products for its marquee customer
base.
About Mubadala Capital
Mubadala Capital is the wholly owned asset management subsidiary
of Mubadala Investment Company, a c. $280 billion global sovereign
investor headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Mubadala Capital manages
c. $23 billion in aggregate across its own balance sheet
investments and in third-party capital vehicles on behalf of
institutional investors, including four flagship private equity
funds, three early-stage venture funds, two funds in Brazil focused
on special opportunities and a highly diversified evergreen
investment strategy focused on private market opportunities, as
well as a series of co-investment vehicles, SPVs and continuation
funds.
Mubadala Capital has offices in New York, San Francisco, London,
Rio de Janeiro, and Abu Dhabi.
For more information, please visit www.mubadalacapital.ae
About Manna Tree
Manna Tree is a global private equity firm committed to
improving human health through nutrition. The firm invests and
actively partners with growth-stage companies, driven by the core
belief that health, well-being, and longevity are attainable
through innovation in food. Manna Tree has invested in a number of
companies including Health-Ade, Gotham Greens, Vital Farms, Good
Culture, Verde Farms, True Food Kitchen, Urban Remedy, The New
Primal and Infinant Health.
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Kimberly Roberts prinquiries@trufoodmfg.com 612.554.5774