NEW YORK, June 10th, 2019 – MidOcean Partners (“MidOcean”), a premier U.S. middle market private equity firm focused on the business services and consumer sectors, announced today a complete exit of its remaining investment in Freshpet. Freshpet is the leading manufacturer and marketer of fresh, refrigerated foods for dogs and cats. Freshpet distributes these products through a network of proprietary Freshpet branded refrigeration units installed in store aisles.
MidOcean initially invested in Freshpet in 2010, when the MidOcean consumer team identified Freshpet as a “category changer”, introducing “fresh” pet food as a new concept succeeding dry and canned products, and an opportunity for outsized growth. Throughout its ownership, MidOcean provided support in building a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant to meaningfully expand production, and drove significant investments in new product launches, branding, and marketing, including targeting media spending across TV, digital and social media channels to build awareness and drive product trial.
MidOcean’s investment in Freshpet was consistent with its strategy of identifying unique investment themes and leveraging its talented operating resources to recognize and acquire attractive investment opportunities on behalf of LPs.
“We are thrilled with the outcome of our investment in Freshpet,” commented Jonathan Marlow, Managing Director of MidOcean. “After detailed analysis of the pet sector, Freshpet was identified early on as an excellent transformative growth opportunity that aligned well with MidOcean’s significant industry knowledge and overall strategy. We are proud to have helped drive the transformational growth and development of the company that Freshpet has become today. We’d like to thank the management team for their tremendous efforts and great partnership during our investment.”