Will 2016 Be Another Record Year for Acquisitions and Investments?

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It’s only been a few months since Nutrition Capital Network (NCN; San Diego, CA) reported that 2015 broke records for acquisitions and equity investments in the nutrition and health and wellness industry, but it looks like 2016 may already be on pace to cruise past those records. Compared to the 627 total transactions recorded in 2015, NCN has already tracked 333 transactions in the first six months of 2016-a 6% increase in activity over the previous year.

In particular, beverages have emerged as one clear trend in this year’s biggest transactions. High-end soda brands Q Drinks and Spindrift, for instance, drew $11 million and $7.2 million in net equity investments in the first half of 2016, respectively. NCN also pointed to major investments in kombucha and aloe beverages, as well as home juicing, including $70 million raised by cold-press juicing company Juicero.

Plant- and insect-based alternatives have also made waves in 2016 so far, such as General Mills’ 301 venturing arm investing $18 million in Kite Hill, a nut-based milk, cheese, and yogurt company. On the bug front, cricket-protein company Exo raised $4 million, on top of a separate undisclosed investment from Japanese company Dentsu.

In addition, NCN pointed to the flurry of international transaction activity, such as Coca-Cola acquiring AdeS, a leading soy-based beverage brand in Latin America, and Chinese companies acquiring North American–based Doctor’s Best and Iovate (known for its MuscleTech and Hydroxycut brands). And one of the biggest branded food and beverage investments of the year has been Shanghai-based ClearVue investing $30 million in CHIC Fresh, a leading high-pressure processed-juice company based in China.

NCN’s full list of the top equity financing transactions and mergers and acquisitions of 2016 so far can be found

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Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com