ONE BRANDS has Been Acquired by The Hershey Company
ONE BRANDS, maker of the One Bar, was acquired by The Hershey Company for $397 million. If you are keeping track, that is now two major protein bar companies acquired in less than a week.
…and I believe we are just getting started in the next 18 months with similar M&A news and heavy investment in the functional food space.
Who is ONE BRANDS?
For my longtime sports nutrition industry professionals, you might recognize ONE BRANDS by its former name of Oh Yeah! Nutrition (and supplements available under the parent company ISS Research). The company was founded in 1999 by Ron McAfee.
While the ONE bar was launched officially in 2015, here is a quick history of how it actually was developed from previous Oh Yeah! Nutrition protein bars that came to market a few years earlier:
1st Iteration
In mid-2013, Oh Yeah! developed the Victory Bar, which was all-natural with more fiber compared to today’s ONE Bar version…
2nd Iteration
In late-2014, Oh Yeah! Nutrition launched a protein bar in Europe that was simply called Low Carb Bar. This European exclusive product had almost the same macros compared to today’s ONE Bar. Within two years, Oh Yeah! Low Carb Bar was phased out for the ONE bar that had became available in the US market…
3rd Iteration
ONE Brands basically took the European market-validated test of Oh Yeah! Low Carb Bar and repackaged it for the US market as ONE Bar in mid-2015…
Things Heat Up!
In January 2017, the ONE Bar maker gets some rocket fuel from private equity firm CAVU Ventures. CAVU Ventures announced it had made a “significant investment” in the protein bar brand and also announced that it had recruited Peter Burns as the company’s new president and CEO to serve alongside the Founder.
This was an important step for ONE Brands because…
- CAVU Ventures provides a great amount of value as a proven food and beverage CPG strategic investor
- Peter Burns was coming off a stint as CEO of Justin’s Nut Butters, where he had helped guide the company to acquisition by CPG strategic portolfio Hormel Foods in May 2016.
In the next 9 months, ONE Brands undergoes a rebrand that is finished in late 2017.
The new packaging is clean and modern. It focuses primarily on the bar’s 20 grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and dessert-inspired flavors. It provides a look that will provide a great merchandising look for a variety of retailers, which will help it stand out on shelf.
This will be helpful as the goal until acquisition was a sales push into conventional grocers, and mass, convenience and club retailers.
Why Would Hershey’s Want to Buy a Protein Bar Company?
While Hershey’s (and its candy brands) does not need any introduction, you might not be aware of its “better for you” snacking acquisitions, as it tries to reinvent itself as more than an indulgent candy brand portfolio.
- 2015 — Acquired meat snacking brand Krave
- 2016 — Acquired parent company that makes Bark Thins
- 2017 — Acquired Amplify Snack Brands, which includes SkinnyPop, Tyrrells potato chips, Oatmega protein bars and cookies and Paqui tortilla chips
- 2018 — Acquired Pirate Brands, which includes Pirate’s Booty, Smart Puffs and Original Tings
The acquisition is expected to enable Hershey to provide a competitive offering of brands in the nutrition bar category. ONE Brands will complement the company’s existing Oatmega business. The Hershey Company also made a recent investment in FULFIL Holdings limited, a European leader in high-protein bars.
What is Next for ONE BRANDS under Hershey’s Ownership?
The Hershey Company intends to expand the existing ONE Brands offerings by leveraging its core capabilities in sales and distribution, category management and digital commerce. ONE Brands CEO Peter Burns has also said that there is the potential to expand the ONE Bar brand into a platform brand. This could bring them back into categories such as RTD protein beverages and other snacks, which were some of OhYeah’s original products. The focus of additional platform offerings would be towards high protein and low sugar, similar to Quest Nutrition.
In my opinion, it would not be out of the question for Hershey’s to use ONE Brands to get into food product categories that wouldn’t cannibalize any of the other Amplify Snack Brands offerings.
- Frozen — this has been a hot CPG/FMCG category for “better for you” product innovation
- Breakfast — high protein lifestyle offerings have been replacing the carbohydrate meals of the past
- Salty Snacks — this is a core product innovation competency of Amplify Snack Brands and high protein offerings would fit great
- Confectionery and Candy — this is the biggest core product innovation competency o Hershey’s and it could be a hotbed for high protein low sugar offerings
