Coca-Cola West to buy juice maker Q'sai for $421 million
Japan's Coca-Cola West, a Coca-Cola bottler, announced that it is acquiring vegetable juice maker Q'sai Co. for approximately $421 million from Daiwa SMBC Capital, a private equity arm of Daiwa Securities and Polaris Capital Group.  Coca-Cola said that it would pay $421 million for the equity of Q’sai and a total of $763 million including debt.  Daiwa SMBC and Polaris paid approximately $716 million for the equity of Q'sai in 2006.  Q'sai's main product is a green juice called "aojiru" that is made from kale, a leafy vegetable known to be high in nutrients and also sells supplements, soap and cream containing collagen.

Coca-Cola Acquires Russian Juice Co. Nidan Soki
The Coca-Cola Company announced that it has acquired Russian juice co. Nidan Soki, one of Russia’s four largest juice makers with a 14% market share in Russia.  Financial terms weren't disclosed, although it is estimated that the deal is valued between $250 million to $300 million, excluding debt.  "The value of the deal could be eight to 10 times Nidan's 2010 expected earnings before interest, taxation and depreciation and amortization, which we estimate at $45 million," said Natalya Zagvozdina, a consumer analyst at Renaissance Capital.  In March, Coke confirmed that it had applied to the Russian antimonopoly agency to buy a 75% stake in Nidan Soki from private-equity group Lion Capital. Lion Capital bought the stake in Nidan Soki in 2007 for $500 million.  Nidan Juices is the production and sales wing of Nidan, and includes Moscow-based LLC Nidan Gross and the joint venture LLC Nidan Ecofruct in Novosibirsk.

Trygg Pharma acquires Epax from Austevoll Seafood
Trygg Pharma AS, a company jointly owned by Aker BioMarine ASA, a Norwegian biotechnology company, and Lindsay Goldberg, a New York-based investment fund, has acquired 100% of the shares in EPAX AS from Austevoll Seafood ASA. EPAX AS is a world-leading supplier of concentrated, marine-derived omega-3 formulas that target specific health conditions.  It is estimated that Trygg Pharma will pay $91 million for the shares and will assume EPAX’s debt of $51 million.  EPAX AS offers concentrated marine omega-3 oils in the business-to-business segment under the brand name EPAX, available in a wide range of formulas with different EPA/DHA ratios and concentrations focused on specific health conditions.

MegaMex To Buy Don Miquel Foods from TSG Consumer Partners
MegaMex Foods LLC, a joint venture between Hormel Foods Corp. and Herdez Del Fuerte, S.A. de C.V. agreed to buy Don Miguel Foods Corp. from TSG Consumer Partners LLC’s TSG4 LP.  Don Miguel Foods provides branded frozen and fresh authentic Mexican flavored appetizers, snacks and handheld items.  In June of 2009, Hormel Foods and Herdez Del Fuerte  announced an agreement to create MegaMex Foods, a 50/50 joint venture to market Mexican foods in the United States.  Herdez Del Fuerte is based in Mexico City and is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and beverages in Mexico and the United States. TSG invested in Don Miguel Foods in October of 2002 and this marks the second recent exit for TSG Consumer Partners after they sold cosmetic investment Smashbox Beauty to Estée Lauder in May 2010.

Emmi Group acquires US cheese specialist Cypress Grove Chèvre
Switzerland-based Emmi Group, has acquired Cypress Grove Chèvre based in Arcata, California.  Emmi is the largest Swiss milk processor and one of the most innovative premium dairies in Europe.   In 2009, Emmi generated sales of approximately $2.6 billion worldwide with $175 million coming from the US.  Cypress Grove is a renowned producer and the best-known brand in the US for fresh and ripened premium goat's cheese specialties, with sales of approximately $10 million in 2009.

Mindbody Inc. raises $14 million from Bessemer Venture Partners and Catalyst Investors
Mindbody Inc., a cloud-based, business management software for health and wellness organizations worldwide, raised $14 million from Bessemer Venture Partners and Catalyst Investors.  The infusion includes an initial tranche of $11 million, with an additional $3 million option that may be exercised at any time within the next 36 months.  Following 60% growth and nearly $10 million in revenue in 2009, Mindbody has accelerated substantially in recent months. The company increased its subscriber base 72 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2010, and is presently serving 9,300 businesses in 62 countries.  This investment will further accelerate the pace of product development while also expanding the company’s global reach into the UK, EU and Australia.

Foodspotting raises 750k in seed round
Foodspotting, the service which asks you to take pictures of your food to share with others, has raised 750k in a seed round led by Aydin Senkut’s Felicis Ventures and anchored by Dave McClure’s 500 Startups, Shana Fisher’s High Line Venture Partners, Zelkova Ventures, and 2020 Ventures.  Users can upload photos and commentary about their favorite food on Foodspotting. They can also look for the best dishes near a certain location, either using the website or the Foodspotting iPhone app.  The site was launched in January, 2010 and claims to receive about 100,000 visitors per month and its iPhone app has been downloaded over 120,000 times. 

Bio-Clean to Acquire Biotec Foods
Bio-Clean, Inc., a maker of consumer and industrial cleaners and restoration products, has inked a deal to acquire certain assets, including patents, trademarks and worldwide merchandising rights, of Biotec Foods, a Huntington Beach, CA-based manufacturer of nutritional supplements.  Selling nutritional products since 1988, Biotec Foods specializes in the development of enzyme-based products.  The company’s products are sold through online retailers, drug stores and health food stores. 

Caryle Group agrees to take NBTY private for $3.8 billion
The Carlyle Group agreed to acquire the USA’s biggest supplement company NBTY whose assets include retail supplement brands Nature’s Bounty, Rexall Sundown, Met-Rx, mail order brand Puritan’s Pride, Leiner, retail store chains Vitamin World and Holland & Barrett in the UK for $3.8 billion in the largest leveraged buyout so far in 2010.  NBTY’s 2009 sales were $2.6 billion. Carlyle offered to pay $55 a share in cash for NBTY, which was 47 % higher than the previous day’s closing price.  Carlyle is backing the deal with approximately $1.4 billion in equity, or 37 percent of the transaction value, which will be funded by its Carlyle Partners V fund.  This isn’t the first supplement transaction for the Carlyle Group, as the private equity firm acquired contract manufacturer, Shionogi Qualicaps Group in 2005 and Pharmaphil in 2007.  NBTY may solicit other bids during a 35-day period, the company said in the statement.

Hain Acquires 3 Greek Gods Yogurt
The Hain Celestial Group made its third acquisition within the past 6 months as it acquired 3 Greek Gods Yogurt.  Greek-style and specialty yogurt grocery sales grew over 100% in the last year while over the last three years the overall yogurt category has experienced only a mid-single digit compound annual growth rate.  3 Greek Gods Yogurt had sales of more than $10 million in 2009 according to a news release. The company was founded seven years ago after three Seattle area men of Greek origin;  Sotirios Tselios, Stephanos Margaritis and Vasili Nassar.

Converted Organics to acquire farming systems company
Converted Organics, a producer of all-natural, organic soil amendment and fertilizer products through food waste recycling, announced that they entered into an agreement to acquire TerraSphere Systems, a designer, builder and operator of vertical farming systems.  Completion of the $26 million all stock transaction would be the Company's largest acquisition to-date and is subject to the approval of Converted Organics' shareholders.  TerraSphere designs, builds and operates efficient, scalable systems, featuring a patented technology that utilizes vertically-stacked modules to house rows of plants, which are then placed perpendicular to an interior light source to grow pesticide-free organic fruits and vegetables.

Drew’s All Natural acquired by Gertrude Hawk Chocolates
96 degrees, maker of Drew’s All Natural, was acquired by Gertrude Hawk Chocolates.  Founded in 1995, Drew’s is a leading manufacturer and marketer of all natural, organic salad dressings and other condiments.  Gertrude Hawk Chocolates acquired Drew’s All Natural to broaden their portfolio of product offerings. 

National Enzyme Purchases Sora Laboratories
National Enzyme Company, a leader in the production of enzymes for dietary supplements, acquired Sora Laboratories, a full-service, analytical, microbiological and characteristics laboratory.  Along with this new full-service laboratory comes the goal of ISO Certification and NEC said it plans to work vigorously to obtain this certification by fall 2010.  This new addition will add 600 square feet of space for in-house laboratory testing and the new laboratory houses state-of-the-art chemistry instrumentation that allows for testing, offering in-depth analysis.

NutriPure Beverages acquires Distributor
NutriPure Beverages, a healthy food and water company, signed a binding letter of intent to purchase 100% of the assets of Brenlin, a privately held distributorship serving the Southern California market.  Brenlin currently distributes a variety of beverage products, including Monster, Rockstar, Redline, Met-Rx and 5-Hour Energy Drinks, and snack products including Cliff Bars, Tiger bars, Balance bars, Pure Protein, Power Crunch, and Detour.   Nutripure Beverages intends to market a full line of nutrient-enhanced water products under the Nu2O label, which will compete with currently available products.

Forbes Medi-Tech sells Reducol to Marco Hi-Tech
As part of its liquidation process, Forbes Medi-Tech announced the sale of all of its Recucol assets to MHT, an affiliate company to Marco Hi-Tech.  The purchase price payable to Forbes pursuant to the Asset Sale is approximately US$1.4 million subject to inventory adjustments.  According to Charles Butt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes, following the closure of the pharmaceutical development program in 2008, the company made significant attempts to expand its nutraceutical business through acquisition funded by equity financing.  However, with the fundamental shift in the sentiment of the capital markets in general, the Company’s Board of Directors felt compelled to re-examine the long-term plan and consequently decided that it was in the interest of stakeholders that ultimately determined Forbes should divest its Reducol assets and distribute the net proceeds to its shareholders.

Piper Private Equity invests $4.5 million in Diet Chef
Diet Chef, an Edinburgh based nutritional meal delivery company, raised $4.5 million from London-based Piper Private Equity to expand its operations.  The company was founded in 2007 and had sales of $7.5 million in 2009.  Diet Chef’s meals contain no additives or preservatives are prepared by chefs and then delivered direct to the firm's customers.  Piper Private Equity is a private equity firm focused on investments in consumer brands with strong growth potential targeting high growth, small to middle market companies in retail, leisure, consumer products and consumer services. Food and nutrition related portfolio companies include Bottlegreen drinks, Maximuscle, and restaurant chains Iguana’s and Tootsies.

Revelry Brands invests second round into Phil's Fresh Foods
Revelry Brands recently announced that it has funded its second investment into Phil's Fresh Foods LLC, the producer of EVOL Burritos.  Revelry made its first investment in the company in March of 2009 through the Burrito Investment Group which is jointly managed by Revelry Brands and Spier Consumer Capital.  Since its initial investment, Revelry has actively worked with EVOL on its rebranding (EVOL was formerly named Phil's Fresh Foods).  Within three months of the rebranding launch, EVOL Burritos became the #2 natural/organic frozen burrito brand in the country.  Founded in 2009, Revelry Brands is led by Brendan Synnott, co-founder and CEO of Bear Naked and co-founder of EVOL Burritos.

Revelry Brands invests in yogurt company Siggi’s
Siggi’s, a premium yogurt company, received an investment from Revelry Brands.  Revelry’s investment will be used to capitalize on the recent upswing in the natural “thick” yogurt category and expand Siggi’s premium product offering, operations, and sales team. Siggi’s makes skyr, a premium, Icelandic-style, thick yogurt that is currently sold nationally in stores such as Whole Foods Market, Wegmans, and Stop and Shop. Siggi’s yogurt has been widely featured in the media and was recently voted “America’s Healthiest Snack” by Health Magazine and “Best New Dairy Product” by Men’s Health Magazine. Siggi’s was founded by Iceland-born Siggi Hilmarrson in 2005 at outdoor markets in New York City.

Clif Bar completes 20% ESOP
Clif Bar, with annual sales of $235 million, has officially become 20% owned by employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).  Employees through the ESOP own 20 percent of the company, while Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford (Clif Bar husband and wife owners) retain the remaining 80 percent.  No change in management structure will take place, and co-owners Gary and Kit will remain majority owners and co-CEOs of the company.

Novus acquires Spanish supplier IQF Group
Novus International acquired IQF Group, including Carotenoid Technologies, S.A., and Investigaciones Químicas y Farmacéuticas, S.A., based in Tarragona, Spain and IQF-ENAMEX, S.A. de C.V. based Córdoba, Mexico.  IQF Group produces a range of feed additives to improve egg color and nutrition as well as the quality of meat across the poultry, pork, beef and aquaculture markets.  This is the second acquisition for Novus in the past six months: Novus bought the animal nutrition division of US-based Albion Laboratories Inc in December 2009.  Novus announced the opening of a human nutrition division in November 2009 called Stratum Nutrition. Stratum is a Nutrition Capital Network Cornerstone Investor. Novus is a a billion-dollar global supplier, predominantly in production animal feed, and is majority owned by Japanese firm Mitsui & Co.

Danone merges Russian dairy units
Group Danone (a Nutrition Capital Network Cornerstone Investor) merges Russian Dairy Unit with OAO Unimilk to become the biggest dairy company in that market.   Danone will take a controlling stake in the venture which will have $1.9 billion in sales and will invest $147 million in Unimilk and put assets in the new business as part of the agreement.  Russia will become Danone’s second biggest market after the deal, heightening Danone’s emerging market profile.

Musclepharm starts trading on the OTC market
Musclepharm Corporation, a sports nutrition supplement company, began trading on the OTC Bulletin Board under the ticker symbol “MSLP”.  The company currently has a line of eight products that are free of banned substances and field-tested by more than 100 elite professional athletes from the NFL, MMA, MLB and elsewhere.  Musclepharm recently reached an agreement to place their entire line of supplements in the 1,200 top-selling GNC outlets across the US and are currently distributed in all Vitamin Shoppe outlets.

Newly Weds Foods acquires UK ingredients company Witwood Food Products
Chicago based Newly Weds Foods acquired UK based food ingredients manufacturer and coating specialist Witwood Food Products.  Witwood Food Products is the UK's largest independent ingredients business, producing food coatings from production sites in the UK, Australia and Thailand.  The company is a market leader in the development and supply of innovative food ingredients for chilled and frozen food companies worldwide.

Thorne Research merges in Diversified Natural Product; closes investment round
Thorne Research and Diversified Natural Products announced their merger.  Both companies are direct-sell supplement manufacturers whose products are predominantly sold through the practitioner channel.  After receiving acquisition and growth financing from WestView Capital Partners and Tudor Venture, the new entity will continue to operate as Thorne Research pursuing an aggressive growth strategy. 

Danone Acquires Access to Long Term Care Channel
Danone North America Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire Medical Nutrition USA Inc. (MNI) for approximately $62 million in cash. Medical Nutrition, which had revenues of $16 million for fiscal year ended January 31, 2010, introduced liquid protein supplements for elderly people in the U.S. long term care market in 2003. Its products are used primarily in long-term care facilities, hospitals, dialysis clinics and bariatric clinics. The company's flagship range addresses protein supplementation and wound care support. Both the organization and the product portfolio will become part of Danone's Medical Nutrition division. Danone's North American Medical Nutrition business, Nutricia North America, had sales of $70 million in 2009. According to Danone, the benefit of this transaction lies in the complementary product ranges and channels of distribution. Also, while Nutricia’s products in the U.S. are mainly aimed at infants and distributed in pharmacies, MNI serves the long term care channel.