MidOcean Partners Acquires Florida Food Products, a Leading Manufacturer of Natural and Clean Label Ingredients

NEW YORK, September 11, 2018 – MidOcean Partners (“MidOcean”), a premier middle market private equity firm focused on consumer and business services, announced today that it has acquired Florida Food Products (“FFP” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer of natural and clean label ingredients, from Kainos Capital. MidOcean’s investment will be used to drive FFP’s continued growth and expansion. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Eustis, Florida, FFP is a leading manufacturer of healthy, natural, clean label ingredients and is the market leader in the clean label cure market. Clean label cures are used for a wide variety of end market uses including packaged meat, foodservice, private label and branded CPG meats as well as premium pet foods. FFP offers appealing alternatives to synthetic meat ingredients, including curing agents, accelerators, and stabilizers as well as plant-based flavor & color enhancement products across a variety of applications, including beverage, meat and meat alternatives, savory foods, sauces and dressings, pet care, sports nutrition and baked goods.

MidOcean has maintained a longtime institutional focus on the flavors/fragrances, food and ingredients sectors, including prior investments in Agilex Fragrances. MidOcean believes that FFP is in an attractive segment of the market as growth in the clean label/natural ingredients market should continue to outpace the traditional food ingredient industry. Consistent with its theme-driven investment approach, MidOcean worked closely with its management resources in identifying and evaluating opportunities in these sectors, resulting in the acquisition of FFP. Dan Stebbins, former Chairman of Agilex Fragrances, and Ray Hughes, former CEO of Agilex Fragrances, will serve on the Florida Food Products Board of Directors. MidOcean’s industry knowledge and executive resources in this space will be valuable in successfully executing on the company’s strategic growth plan. 

FFP will continue to be led by its current management team, including CEO Jim Holdrieth, who has grown the Company into the industry leader in the clean label ingredients space. FFP will look to expand its product offerings and customer base in current and new markets in partnership with MidOcean’s considerable operating resources.

Jim Holdrieth, FFP CEO, commented, “MidOcean’s proven track record of building leading flavors, food and ingredients businesses and deep understanding of the industry makes them the ideal partner for FFP at this stage in our development. They are fully aligned with our mission and we are eager to leverage their extensive expertise and resources as we continue the Company’s expansion in the natural and clean label Ingredients market.”

Jonathan Marlow, Managing Director at MidOcean, commented, “We are very excited to partner with FFP, which is the market leader in the clean label cure market. Jim and his team have built an impressive business that has experienced strong growth. We have identified a number of opportunities to increase FFP’s presence across channels and markets fueled by organic investments, strategic initiatives and highly accretive acquisitions.”

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher acted as legal advisor to MidOcean. Houlihan Lokey acted as exclusive financial advisor and Winston & Strawn acted as legal advisor to Florida Food Products.

About MidOcean

MidOcean Partners is a premier New York-based alternative asset manager specializing in middle-market private equity, structured capital, and alternative credit investments. Since its inception in 2003, MidOcean Private Equity has targeted investments in high-quality middle-market companies in the consumer and business services sectors. MidOcean Credit Partners was launched in 2009 and currently manages a series of alternative credit strategies, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), and customized separately managed accounts. For more information, please visit: https://www.midoceanpartners.com/