16 min
Simply Good Foods Company Acquires OWYN | Convenient Nutrition Category Implications the Joshua Schall Audio Experience
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- Business
41 months after I posed the original question, The Simply Good Foods Company has finally given me the answer I’ve been waiting for! So, I’ve been alluding to this “eat or be eaten” phase of The Simply Good Foods Company for the last 3.5 years. But only a few days after posting that January 2021 Simply Good Foods prediction, the company released its first quarter earnings report and then-CEO Joe Scalzo dropped some details on the conference call that I turned into another more detailed prediction mostly exploring plant-based protein convenient nutrition names...one of which was a relatively under-the-radar brand named Only What You Need (OWYN). And for those that haven’t seen last week’s headlines yet (and are confused by all that previous information), The Simply Good Foods Company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement under which it will acquire OWYN for $280 million in cash. For my finance people that enjoy knowing the deal specifics, that purchase price represents a multiple of approximately 2.3x estimated 2023 net sales and 13.3x estimated adjusted EBITDA, including run-rate synergies. Seeing the gap in the protein beverages market, OWYN was created in 2017 to delivered enough plant protein and the right combinations of amino acids for muscle building and repair…plus enough calories to provide sustainable energy during workouts and training. In that same year, CPG legend Jason Cohen and longstanding partner Clearlake Capital invested in OWYN and helped fill key management positions with people who had deep industry experience…one of which, Mark Olivieri, was arguably the most impactful. He led brand marketing that evolved the brand purpose of OWYN to stand for truth and transparency and positioned OWYN as not just another plant-based option, but as a riskless plant-based option. He built a strategic narrative around the belief that the detrimental health impacts of over-claiming and under-testing is not just a marketing issue, but also is a social issue. Mark Olivieri would eventually become President and then CEO in August 2021, leading them through a few key investment transactions, and staying true to that quest to fuel bodies with cleanest nutrition…thus turning OWYN into a powerhouse brand across multiple sales channels, product formats, and pack types. In fact, within the last 52-week period ending March 24, 2024…OWYN is the fastest growing RTD protein shake brand in the market (growing 10 times more than the categorical average). Why I said OWYN “gets slept on” too much within the protein category is they are in the early phase of building a truly distinctive brand that has increasingly, mainstream appeal with a highly engaged, passionate core customer. But the remaining part of this content piece will focus on why (beyond the brand strategic narrative stuff that) I thought OWYN was a strategically compelling M&A opportunity way back in 2021 and why Simply Good Foods finally saw the light now...and then what does this mean to the convenient nutrition competitive landscape (Should market leaders like Premier Protein, Fairlife/Core Power, and Muscle Milk be nervous?)
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joshua-schall/support
41 months after I posed the original question, The Simply Good Foods Company has finally given me the answer I’ve been waiting for! So, I’ve been alluding to this “eat or be eaten” phase of The Simply Good Foods Company for the last 3.5 years. But only a few days after posting that January 2021 Simply Good Foods prediction, the company released its first quarter earnings report and then-CEO Joe Scalzo dropped some details on the conference call that I turned into another more detailed prediction mostly exploring plant-based protein convenient nutrition names...one of which was a relatively under-the-radar brand named Only What You Need (OWYN). And for those that haven’t seen last week’s headlines yet (and are confused by all that previous information), The Simply Good Foods Company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement under which it will acquire OWYN for $280 million in cash. For my finance people that enjoy knowing the deal specifics, that purchase price represents a multiple of approximately 2.3x estimated 2023 net sales and 13.3x estimated adjusted EBITDA, including run-rate synergies. Seeing the gap in the protein beverages market, OWYN was created in 2017 to delivered enough plant protein and the right combinations of amino acids for muscle building and repair…plus enough calories to provide sustainable energy during workouts and training. In that same year, CPG legend Jason Cohen and longstanding partner Clearlake Capital invested in OWYN and helped fill key management positions with people who had deep industry experience…one of which, Mark Olivieri, was arguably the most impactful. He led brand marketing that evolved the brand purpose of OWYN to stand for truth and transparency and positioned OWYN as not just another plant-based option, but as a riskless plant-based option. He built a strategic narrative around the belief that the detrimental health impacts of over-claiming and under-testing is not just a marketing issue, but also is a social issue. Mark Olivieri would eventually become President and then CEO in August 2021, leading them through a few key investment transactions, and staying true to that quest to fuel bodies with cleanest nutrition…thus turning OWYN into a powerhouse brand across multiple sales channels, product formats, and pack types. In fact, within the last 52-week period ending March 24, 2024…OWYN is the fastest growing RTD protein shake brand in the market (growing 10 times more than the categorical average). Why I said OWYN “gets slept on” too much within the protein category is they are in the early phase of building a truly distinctive brand that has increasingly, mainstream appeal with a highly engaged, passionate core customer. But the remaining part of this content piece will focus on why (beyond the brand strategic narrative stuff that) I thought OWYN was a strategically compelling M&A opportunity way back in 2021 and why Simply Good Foods finally saw the light now...and then what does this mean to the convenient nutrition competitive landscape (Should market leaders like Premier Protein, Fairlife/Core Power, and Muscle Milk be nervous?)
FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
LINKEDIN
YOUTUBE
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joshua-schall/support
16 min