Pasture Brands Holdings, LLC (“Pasture Brands”), a portfolio company of Benford Capital Partners (“Benford Capital” or “BCP”), is pleased to announce the acquisition of Pillars Yogurt, LLC (“Pillars” or the “Company”). Pasture Brands was originally formed by BCP in December 2021 to acquire Farmers Hen House Group, LLC (“Farmers Hen House”), a leading specialty egg brand in the natural, supermarket, mass and club channels in the U.S.

Launched in 2016, Pillars is a better-for-you, clean label drinkable yogurt brand sold at leading conventional and natural retailers. Pillars’ portfolio of single-and multi-serve drinkable yogurts and plant-based yogurt cups has grown rapidly since inception, and the brand is known for its exceptional taste, nutritional profile, and product quality. The addition of Pillars to Pasture Brands creates a unique, diversified platform of better-for-you, natural brands across the dairy case.

“I was looking for a strategic partner to help accelerate the growth of the brand and take Pillars to the next level”, said Founder Eric Bonin. “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.”

Commenting on the investment, Farmers Hen House CEO Ryan Miller added, “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. 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, noted, “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.”

ABOUT PILLARS YOGURT

Pillars was launched in 2016 by Founder Eric Bonin who identified an opportunity for a natural, high protein beverage option in the dairy aisle. After starting exclusively in the natural channel, Pillars has expanded its current distribution to over 4,000 stores across the U.S. The brand’s great-tasting, clean label drinkable yogurt products have significantly lower sugar and higher protein than other options and contain pre and probiotics for improved gut health.

ABOUT BENFORD CAPITAL PARTNERS

Founded in 2004, Benford Capital is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on buying and building leading lower middle market companies in partnership with founders and management. Since inception, Benford Capital has acquired over 51 companies and currently owns 16 platform companies. BCP’s industry areas of focus include industrial technology, food and consumer products, agricultural products and services, and B2B e-commerce. For more information, please visit www.benfordcapital.com.

Please contact Ben Riefe (ben@benfordcapital.com) or Brian Behm (bbehm@benfordcapital.com) with any questions or add-on acquisition ideas for Pasture Brands.