Sunny Delight beverages
Sunny Delight has grown into an independent national beverage company with more than $400 million in gross sales.

GREENWICH, CONN. — Brynwood Partners VII L.P. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cincinnati-based Sunny Delight Beverages Co. from Winter Street Opportunities Fund, L.P., which is managed by J.W. Childs Associates. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1963 by two fathers, Howard Dick and Phil Grinnell, Sunny Delight has grown into an independent national beverage company with more than $400 million in gross sales that employs approximately 480 people. The company operates four manufacturing facilities in the United States and owns three beverage brands:  Sunny Delight, Fruit2O and Veryfine, which are distributed through leading retailers in the United States and Canada.

Henk Hartong, Brynwood
Henk Hartong III, chairman and c.e.o. of Brynwood Partners

“We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Sunny Delight,” said Henk Hartong III, chairman and chief executive officer of Brynwood Partners. “The iconic Sunny Delight brand, with its highly recognizable bottle design, has a loyal customer following and is an important brand for retailers in the U.S. and Canada.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with the company’s Cincinnati-based management team to grow the storied Sunny Delight brand. While separate operating companies, Sunny Delight and its Brynwood VII sister company, Harvest Hill Beverage Co. (owner of the Juicy Juice, Hug and Daily’s brands), will explore ways to seek synergies that could benefit both companies. We are also excited about the company’s four manufacturing facilities as they provide Sunny Delight with significant manufacturing flexibility to provide our retail partners with new innovative products in a timely manner.” 

This marks Brynwood Partners VII’s second operating platform in the beverage sector and is a significant investment for the firm.

“The operating and industry knowledge we have gained as a result of our investment in Harvest Hill will be a benefit as we collaboratively work with Sunny Delight’s management team to create long-term shareholder value for our investors,” said Ian MacTaggart, president and chief operating officer of Brynwood Partners.

J.W. Childs Associates acquired the Sunny Delight brand from The Procter & Gamble Co. in 2004.

“On behalf of J.W. Childs Associates, we want to thank the management team at Sunny Delight for more than a decade of partnership,” said Adam Suttin, partner at J.W. Childs Associates. “We are pleased with the result of this transaction, which together with our prior divestitures of Sunny Delight’s European divisions, represents a successful outcome for our firm. We wish the company and Brynwood VII the best of success with this iconic brand.” 

Founded in 1984, Brynwood Partners is an operationally-focused private equity firm that makes control investments in North American-based lower middle market companies in the consumer sector. The firm manages more than $700 million of private equity capital for its limited partners, which include U.S. and international pension funds, fund-of-funds, endowments, high net worth family investment offices and financial institutions.