Dive Brief:
- Amplify Snack Brands announced Tuesday its acquisition of better-for-you snack maker Boundless Nutrition, best known for Oatmega protein snack bars and Perfect Cookie products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- Boundless Nutrition's net sales for the 12 months ended March 31 were about $7 million, a 100% increase year over year. The acquisition offers Amplify an entrance into the fast-growing protein snack and snack bar markets.
- Along with the announcement, Amplify also reported a 23% increase in first-quarter net sales to $54.4 million, driven by distribution expansion and brand growth for SkinnyPop and increased distribution for Paqui. Net income for the quarter soared 71% to $8.4 million.
Dive Insight:
Previously, Amplify's portfolio centered around better-for-you versions of salty snacks, namely RTE popcorn (SkinnyPop) and tortilla chips (Paqui). With these two brands, Amplify was well-positioned in the snacking category. RTE popcorn was the fastest-growing salty snacks category, and tortilla chips was the leading salty snacks category in the natural channel, according to a recent Packaged Facts report.
With Boundless Nutrition, Amplify is taking a step forward that will enable Amplify to capitalize on a wider range of better-for-you products.
Even though Amplify's current two brands are nestled securely in the better-for-you category, they are still salty snack brands. Public health concerns about salt are mounting, and the FDA's potential voluntary targets for salt reduction in the food supply still loom. It may not be the best strategy for Amplify to position itself as only a salty snacks maker — better-for-you or otherwise.
General Mills recognized the same need for diversification when it acquired Annie's in 2014, as did Mondelez with Enjoy Life Foods. Both acquisitions offered the larger companies a stronger positioning of revenue in the better-for-you foods category, and both companies are better off in the short term — and likely long term — because of those deals.