Nestlé Health Science closes acquisition of collagen brand

22-Feb-2022 - Last updated on 22-Feb-2022 at 17:35 GMT

Getty Images / Tatiana

Related tags Nestlé health science Collagen M&A

The Swiss nutrition giant has wrapped up the final acquisition of Vital Proteins, a Chicago-based collagen leader.

In 2020, Nestlé Health Science agreed to acquire a majority stake in Vital Proteins, adding the brand to its other vitamin, mineral, supplement and wellness brands, including Atrium Innovations, Garden of Life, Pure Encapsulations and Persona.

According to Nestlé, the transaction was always planned as a staged acquisition. “We made our first investment in 2020 and the original agreement included an option for the minority equity holders to sell the remaining equity to Nestlé Health Science in early 2022,” explained Jacquelyn Campo, Senior Director, Corporate Communications at Nestlé Health Science.

"Vital Proteins has had incredible growth over the past two years," said Greg Behar, CEO of Nestlé Health Science. "We have worked to expand the brand geographically, scale up R&D and innovate on new products. More people around the world are becoming aware of how collagen can be incorporated into their wellness journeys."

Vital Proteins

The collagen brand will continue to be run out of Chicago. Tracey Halama, previously Chief Revenue Officer and President of Vital Proteins, has been appointed CEO as Kurt Seidensticker, founder of Vital Proteins, steps aside.

"Kurt and his team have done an amazing job building Vital Proteins. It was Kurt's vision that made it possible and I look forward to working with him as a Nestlé Health Science advisor," said Behar. "Vital Proteins' new CEO, Tracey Halama, has been an invaluable asset to the business over the past eight years. Under her leadership, we will see even further growth."

Vital Proteins offers over 250 SKUs ranging from powders, shots and capsules to protein bars, coffee creamers and waters and teas.

“Vital Proteins is a wellness and lifestyle powerhouse, and we’re delighted that it’s now fully part of Nestlé Health Science. The teams have built a strong brand and we look forward to bringing Vital Proteins to more people around the world,” Campo told NutraIngredients-USA.

Nestlé

Last week the nutrition behemoth reported strong organic sales growth in its full-year earnings results for 2021, with over 14% of its full-year group sales taking place online, when ecommerce sales grew by 15%. Online performance scored particularly well for Purina PetCare, coffee brands and Nestlé Health Science brands– including Garden of Life, Vital Proteins, Solar and Nature’s Bounty.

“Nestlé Health Science had strong gains in 2021, with double-digit growth and full year sales of $4.822 billion, up from $3.326 billion in 2020. We completed acquisition of The Bountiful Company’s core brands (including Nature’s Bounty, Solgar, Puritan’s Pride and Osteo Bi-Flex) and Nuun, driving us toward becoming a leading global nutrition and health platform,” Campo told us.

Earlier this month, Nestlé announced it was taking a majority stake in Orgain.