CHICAGO — Pasture Brands Holdings, LLC, a portfolio company within Benford Capital Partners, expanded its portfolio by acquiring Pillars Yogurt, LLC.
Pillars, founded in 2016 by Eric Bonin, makes drinkable Greek yogurt that features added fiber, as well as prebiotics and probiotics.
Its 12 oz line comes in flavors of coconut, mango, mixed berry, peach, strawberry banana, and vanilla. Meanwhile, its 32 oz line features chocolate, mixed berry, plain and raspberry.
The company also offers plant-based yogurt cups in flavors of mixed berry, vanilla, plain and strawberry banana.
“I was looking for a strategic partner to help accelerate the growth of the brand and take Pillars to the next level,” Bonin said. “Partnering with BCP and Farmers Hen House will allow Pillars to better serve our long-term, existing retail partners and to expand distribution to reach even more consumers.”
Benford Capital Partners said it created Pasture Brands in December 2021 to pursue add-on acquisitions of natural, fresh and refrigerated food and beverage products.
Pasture Brands acquired specialty egg brand Farmers Hen House Group, LLC, in December 2021 to recapitalize the company.
“We’re very impressed with the business Eric has built; Pillars’ delicious, clean label products with low sugar and high protein content clearly resonate with consumers,” said Ryan Miller, chief executive officer of Farmers Hen House. “Combining Pillars and Farmers Hen House under the Pasture Brands umbrella will yield near-term growth opportunities as we become more important to our growing customer base.”
Brian Behm, a principal at BCP, added: “We are excited to continue building the Pasture Brands platform alongside Ryan Miller and team. Eric has built a great brand and, moving forward, we’re excited to expand Pillars’ retail distribution and further invest in new product development.”