DYMATIZE Sells Supplement Company
By Scott Welch
The story didn’t get much press but we’re gonna change all that today! TA Associates, a private equity firm, recently announced it has bought a majority investment in Dymatize. As part of the transaction, the company’s founders will continue with the company and retain a significant portion of their equity. Other terms of the investment were not disclosed.
“TA Associates is the first institutional investor in Dymatize since Ted and I started the company more than 15 years ago…”
VERTICALLY INTEGRATED
Founded in 1994 in Texas, Dymatize offers more than 200 branded and private label products in numerous categories and employs a vertically-integrated business model whereby it manufactures the majority of its products in company-owned facilities. KAIZEN, MUTANT/PVL, OPTIMUM NUTRITION, INTERACTIVE, ABB, BEVERLY, FORWARD FOODS, SCI-FIT, ISOPURE, UNIVERSAL, ULTIMATE NUTRITION, JAMIESON, MVP are also vertically integrated this way. If they make their own products, they can control the quality and give you products at a cheaper price since they own the factory it’s made in.
DISTRIBUTION
The company sells largely to independent retailers through a network of domestic and international distributors and has a significant and growing presence in specialty retailers such as The Vitamin Shoppe, GNC and bodybuilding.com. Dymatize products are distributed in more than 50 countries.
“We are excited by the opportunity to partner with current management and build upon Dymatize’s past success,” said William D. Christ, a Senior Vice President at TA Associates who will join Dymatize’s Board of Directors.
“The company’s desire to produce high quality reasonably priced sports supplements products, its vertically-integrated model and its expansive international presence, make Dymatize a unique company in the sports supplements industry…Adherence to the highest quality standards is a hallmark of Dymatize,” said Ted Casey, CEO, Dymatize.
“TA shares that commitment to quality and can provide the financial support, strategic guidance and significant network of contacts to help us further grow the company. We look forward to a fruitful and mutually-beneficial relationship.”
“TA Associates is the first institutional investor in Dymatize since Ted and I started the company more than 15 years ago,” said Michael Casid, President, Dymatize. “We chose TA as a partner because of the firm’s financial and strategic resources, coupled with their many years of experience investing in profitable and growing retail and consumer companies.”
“Sports supplements, particularly basic products like proteins, are gaining much more mass acceptance,” said Jeffrey S. Barber, a Managing Director at TA Associates who will also join Dymatize’s Board of Directors. “The 18 to 30-year-old male is no longer the only target demographic for the core sports supplement products. The global trend of increased interest in health and wellness should bode well for Dymatize.”