Kestrel Foods has added to its snacks assets with a move for Nurture Brands’ Indie Bay Snacks brand.
The all-UK deal sees Indie Bay Snacks join a Kestrel Foods portfolio that includes the Forest Feast brand.
The financial terms of the deal, confirmed by Nurture Brands, were not disclosed.
Northern Ireland-based Kestrel Foods also owns the Acti-Snack trail mix and granola brand. Three years ago, the company snapped up another granola brand, Just Live a Little.
Just Food has approached Kestrel Foods for comment.
UK food-and-drinks group Nurture Brands acquired pretzel business Indie Bay Snacks two years ago.
The privately-owned Kestrel Foods generated a turnover of £23.2m ($30.1m) in the year to the end of April 2023, according to the most recent set of accounts filed at Companies House.
Operating profit stood at £559,038, up from £531,674 the year earlier. Higher interest expenses meant net profit dipped from £450,222 to £318,966.
Nurture Brands, formed in 2019 through the merger of UK firms Ape Snacks and Emily Crisps, also acquired local confectionery producer Doisy & Dam and seaweed crisps firm Abakus Foods in 2022.
Speaking to Just Food, Nurture Brands MD Adam Draper said the sale of Indie Bay Snacks allowed the company – which also owns snacks brand Emily and Rebel Kitchen coconut water – to “focus on bigger parts of the business”.
London-based Nurture Brands has enjoyed a “run-rate” turnover of “close to £11m” over the last three months, representing growth of 17%, Draper said. In the same period, Rebel Kitchen has seen sales jump 42% and Emily snacks sales have grown 39%.
The business remains “marginally loss-making”, Draper added, but he expects the company to become profitable next year.
Drinks account for the majority of Nurture Brands’ sales. Outside the UK, the company has been building the presence of its Jax Coco coconut water brand in Asia. Earlier this year, it secured listings at 4,000 Starbucks stores in China.
However, Draper said the business wants to continue to have drinks and snacks assets in its portfolio. “We sell to the same customers,” Draper added.
He pointed to the success of snacks brand Emily, which has recently won a contract with Costco in Australia.
